Medafighter: Naruto Tenryo
by NeoNazo356
Summary: When one door closes, a window is sure to open. From a world rife with conflict and strife, through happenstance of fate, a fallen hero is given a second chance. Reborn in the twenty-second century, how will our hero fare in a time and place where sentient robots tote live ammo like the latest fashion, and adult supervision is next to nonexistant? On Temporary Hiatus
1. Prologue PT 1

Two warriors stood across from each other on a heavily damaged battlefield. Across the world hills were aflame, mountains were crushed to rubble, the oceans raged out of control, rivers overflowed, and villages of all sizes were leveled to the ground.

The first warrior was in a black cloak with red cloud patterns across it. He wore an orange spiral mask with a hole for the right eye.

The second figure was wearing an orange and black jumpsuit under an orange robe with black flame designs. He had spiky sun-kissed hair, ocean-blue eyes, and three whisker marks on each side of his face. On his forehead he wore a black headband, a metal plate with a leaf symbol emblazoned on it.

"Your end has come. Just give up."

"Foolish child. I possess the Immortal Mangekyo. You cannot defeat me."

The blonde figure smirked. "We'll just see about that."

The blonde figure began charging a spiraling sphere of energy in his right hand as he bent his knees. As the sphere grew larger, streams of powerful energy poured into it. Red for fire, blue for water, green for wind, brown for earth, and yellow for lightning.

"Six Paths Style: Five Element Rasengan!" the blonde figure shouted as he completed charging his most powerful attack.

The masked figure brought his left had to his side and summoned the true power of the Immortal Mangekyo. The sky above rumbled as dark clouds formed overhead, a clearing revealed a full moon. The same mark that was on his Sharingan eye appeared in his palm, and the silhouette of a ten-tailed demon rushed out of the moon as a dark mist and appeared behind him. The demon flew into the masked figure's palm and tsunami of darkness issued forth.

"Ten Tailed Style: Infinite Darkness Chidori!" the masked figure said as ten streams of darkness issued forth from his left palm, tearing into the land behind him.

"THIS FIGHT IS OVER!!!" both figures shouted as they ran towards each other with their most devastating attacks at the ready.

The two attacks collided, their power so overwhelming that the shockwave rushed to the opposite side of the planet. The elemental energy of the world clashing against the immortal power of darkness.

Their attacks were so great that the very walls of reality fell within that single space, sucking both warriors and their attacks in with it.

"Curse you!!!" the masked figure cursed as his body was sucked into the void.

"Well... At least its finally over," the blonde figure said as his body too was sucked into the void.

The two great attacks subsided, leaving in their wake a world of peace.

With its greatest threat gone forever, peace would reign for the rest of time.


	2. Prologue PT 2

At the same time in an entirely different world. The time was October the tenth.

The setting was a small town named Riverview. A beautiful river worked through the main part of the town, providing its livelihood. Many buildings and houses held the landscape in its grip.

Among those in the town were a married couple. Both now suffered an emotional scar that would probably never heal completely.

The husband's name was Joso Tenryo. The wife's name was Hikari Tenryo.

Joso sat at the dinner table across from his wife. He remained silent.

Hikari too remained silent, but only mulled over her own cup of coffee.

Neither had slept for a couple of days, and after what had happened their grief was fully understandable.

"Hikari. Mulling over this won't change anything," Joso said solemnly.

Hikari nodded. "I know. But its just so hard."

"I know. We'll get through this somehow," Joso said.

"I'm going to go for a walk," Hikari said as she grabbed a scarf and coat.

* * *

The streets were relatively empty. Barely anyone was awake during this hour.

Hikari mulled over what had happened.

As she walked, she came to the park. Like the rest of the town, it was empty at that time.

She looked up to the autumn leaves. No matter how many times they fell, they'd always be back in the spring.

As she thought, she turned to the heavens for an answer. However they had yet to yield a response.

She was about to leave when a sudden wind blew across her.

She turned to her left to see something you didn't see, even in the twenty second century.

What she saw was a spiraling mass of energy floating a few inches above the ground.

The gale subsided, she cautiously walked forward.

As she walked around the sides of the energy mass, she could tell that it looked like a portal. To where she didn't know.

When she walked around to the front, she could see something coming towards her through the portal.

She held out her arms as what appeared to be the body of a small child came through.

As the body left the portal, it was gently set down into her arms by rainbow-colored tendrils that came through the portal.

As she held the body in her arms, the portal closed. A final gust of wind signaled that it had closed for good.

She had no idea what had just happened. First a portal appears in the park, and then the body of an infant comes through.

What perplexed her the most was what accompanied the child. They appeared to be clothing that was sized for an adult.

Not knowing what to do next, she quickly rushed home.

* * *

Hikari ran home as fast as she could, all the while carrying the body of the infant that had come through the portal.

"Joso!" she said as she came through the door.

"What is it? What happened?" he asked as he got up and rushed to his wife.

"You won't believe what I just saw," she said as she held the child out.

"Hm? Who's child is that?" he asked as he stared at the child.

Hikari then explained what had happened in the park.

"You can't be serious?" he said in shock.

"I'm not lying," she said defensively.

"I'm not saying that you're lying," he said calming her. "I just don't know what to think of this."

Hikari looked to the child. "This may sound silly, but maybe my prayers were answered just then."

"That's a possibility," he said. "Although where'd you get these clothes."

"They were with the baby when he came through the portal. But wherever that portal lead, it closed right after he came out off it."

Joso looked the baby over. "Hm. These whisker marks are peculiar."

Hikari suddenly noticed that the child had something drawn across his belly.

She moved the piece of clothing she had used to cover the child and found what looked like an intricately drawn seal of some kind.

"What is that?" Joso asked as he rubbed the seal. "It isn't ink, and it isn't tattooed on either."

At that very moment, a red energy streamed out from the center of the seal and enveloped the two of them.

* * *

The next moment, the two were someplace that defied logic. In every direction was pure white, with only a few chunks of floor floating through space.

"Where are we?" Hikari asked as she looked around. At that moment, the two of them were standing on a chunk of floor the size of a coffee table.

"I don't know," Joso said. "That seal may've been magic or something."

The two of them turned to see what looked like a massive cage floating through space. The walls were broken in numerous places, the bars rusted away, and what looked like an aged tag holding the door closed.

"Woah. What is that?" Joso asked as he scanned the cage. It was bigger then their house, heck it was bigger then a grocery store.

To their surprise, a large creature lumbered forward, then with a heave it pushed the doors open. The creature looked like a giant fox with nine tails. Most of its fur was red, but was slowly greying at the roots.

The creature weakly opened its eyes. **"Please... Do not be alarmed..."**

Its voice was raspy. It sounded weak with age.

"Who are you?" Hikari asked as she stepped forward.

Joso was about to stop her from falling, but suddenly a portion of floor that was floating nearby moved under her feet.

"**I am... or was... the Kyuubi no Yoko," **the creature spoke.

"Are you the one who brought us here?" Joso asked as he followed his wife.

"**I am... I know I don't have... the right... but I need to ask... a favor of you..." **the creature spoke.

"What is it?" Hikari asked.

Kyuubi opened its eyes weakly. **"The child that you recovered... was dealt a bad card by fate... A burden that could never be removed was thrust upon him from birth."**

The two began to listen to the fox's tale of its own life, and then that of the boy.

"So much pain... So much suffering... How awful" Hikari said on the brink of tears. Joso was doing a better job of holding them back.

"So this child is from another world?" Joso asked.

The creature nodded. **"Yes. The final memories you've witnessed were of the boy's final battle against an immortal ninja. With his most powerful technique he was able to throw the immortal and himself through the wall between worlds."**

"But he looked like he was in his twenties," Joso said. "Why is he a baby now?"

Kyuubi took in a weak breath. **"Nothing survives for long in the wall between worlds... Anything that exists there will revert to its original form gradually."**

"But if nothing can survive between worlds, how did the child?" Hikari asked after wiping the last of her tears.

"**I used the remains of my power... to keep the boy alive... while I looked for a way out," **the fox spoke. **"That was when I found you."**

"Me?" Hikari said.

Kyuubi nodded. **"Your kind heart is what allowed me to pass through."**

"What would you ask us to do?" Joso asked. It was taking him a while to comprehend all this, but so far he was willing to listen.

"**As I said, the child didn't have the best life," **Kyuubi spoke. His hair began to grey more and more. **"He was always belittled because of the burden he carried. I'm asking that you take care of him. I ask not for myself... But for him."**

"But what will happen once he's grown?" Hikari asked.

"**When the boy went through the portal, nearly every aspect of him was reset,"** Kyuubi spoke. By now his hair was completely grayed and began to chip away at the tips. **"His body is that of a newborn. His memories are reset, and only a few will linger. As for his soul, or heart as you humans say, that has also been reset. As he grows, he will become a different person then he was before. Odds are... he will still fight for his friends though. That's always been one of his most endearing qualities."**

As he said that, Kyuubi slumped to the bottom of his cage.

"What about you? What'll happen to you?" Hikari ask as she rubbed the creature's paw.

"**My... time is coming... to a close... In a few moments... I will be gone..." **Kyuubi said. **"I was able to hold onto some of his power... and mine... Once he gets older, he will be able to use a little of it... But only a little..."**

The couple nodded. "We'll take care of him as though he were our own."

The fox weakly nodded.** "That is... all I ask... Be strict... but fair... When the time comes... tell him of our talk."**

With that the fox spirit faded away completely.

"Goodbye Kyuubi," Hikari said as she felt a strong thrust of wind.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she was sitting across from Joso. The child she had found was between them.

"Did that really just happen?" Joso asked.

Hikari looked at the baby's stomach. "Look. The seal is fading."

Joso's eyes landed on the seal. It was fading until it was completely gone.

"What a day huh?" Hikari asked as she cradled the baby in her arms. "His name will be Naruto. Naruto Tenryo."

* * *

**Joso is the name of Ikki's father in the anime, while Ikki's mom was never given an _actual_ name. I chose Hikari for her name, which means "Jewel Box" in Japanese.**


	3. A Medafighter Emerges!

**RECAP**

After Naruto had been adopted, Hikari and Joso treated him as if he were their own son.

On Naruto's second year however, everything took a turn for the worst.

It was at the World Robattle Championships when something apocalyptic happened.

There was a massive release of meda-energy from two medabots who were fighting, and all across the world Medabots were driven to madness and rampaged for ten days.

That time was known as the Ten Days of Darkness.

As a swarm of various Medabots advanced on the Tenryo's street, they thought the end had come as several dozen pairs of red glowing eyes neared.

But then, a miracle of sorts happened.

Naruto's ocean blue eyes changed to crimson for a brief moment, and the wail he let out somehow short-circuited the medabots, saving them from an untimely demise.

Hikaru Agata was apparently the source of the calamity, although that was put under speculation as no proof could be brought up.

The Tenryo family survived the Ten Days relatively unscathed, and continued to raise Naruto as their own son for the next eight years.

**RECAP END**

* * *

It was another day at Riverview Junior High. The Student Council had challenged the Screws to a robattle, and everyone at the school was watching.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. School journalist coming through," Erika said as she pushed through a crowd of students.

"You're late," blonde haired boy sitting next to her said. He was wearing an orange and black long-sleeved shirt, blue shorts, and black shoes.

"Naruto. When did you get here?" Erika asked.

**You see, Naruto and Erika had grown up together. They've been friends since kindergarten.**

_Early as always_, Naruto thought to himself as he prepared to watch the robattle.

"God afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to robattle." Mr. Referee announced. "Today's robattle has been declared a Submission match. So on behalf of the World Medabot Federation I will act as referee, me, Mr. Referee. The rules are simple. The first medabot to stop the other from functioning wins. The loser must then submit one medapart to the winner, for keeps."

"Submission robattle. Medafighters ready? Robattle!" the referee said as he brought his hand down.

Dr. Bockchoy and Peppercat charged.

"Wow. Peppercat's moving really fast," Erika said astonished.

"That's weird," Naruto said with eyes narrowed.

"What?" Erika asked.

At that moment, Peppercat's left arm (Light Blow) ceased function.

"Dr. Bokchoy was built to help with homework," Naruto explained. "Sure he's got fast legs, but he's still a wimp. How'd _he_ manage to take out Peppercat's arm?"

"Prepare to be annihilated!" the Studen Council President said.

Dr. Bokchoy rushed forward.

"Jump Peppercat!" Sam ordered.

Peppercat jumped over Dr. Bokchoy's charge and backflipped until she jumped off the side of the wall.

"This cannot be! Peppercat doesn't have that kind of speed," the SCP said fearfully as Peppercat rushed Dr. Bokchoy.

"Lightning Jump!" Sam ordered.

Peppercat leapt high into the air and dealt the finishing blow, eliminating Dr. Bokchoy in one shot.

"Dr. Bokchoy submits!" Mr. Referee declared. "The winner is, Samantha!"

* * *

"Gotta hand it to Samantha," Erika admitted. "That was an awesome robattle."

"Yeah right," Naruto said. "The only reason Peppercat was so fast was because they removed most of her body armor. One hit in the right spot and she would've been toast."

"_Really_," Erika said.

"Of course," Naruto said confidently. "I mean Samantha did an okay job modifying Peppercat, but the balance was _way _off. I mean I could've taken that medabot down in _one_ shot."

"Is that so? Well, since you're such a master medafighter why don't _you_ step up," Sam said from behind Naruto. "C'mon Naruto. Lets robattle. You and me, right now."

"Oh wait. Poor Naruto doesn't even have a medabot," Spyke said mockingly. "Not _one_."

"Oh. I forgot. That's why Naruto can't lose," Sam said waving her hand. "Because he doesn't _have_ a medabot. Hey Naruto, the circus called. They want their freak back."

Then the Screws started laughing.

"Don't laugh!" Naruto said as he bolted up. "Someday I'm going to have a medabot too!"

"Oh yeah? Like when?" Sam asked.

"Well... Well... Like I said! Someday!" Naruto shouted.

"Someday. Spyke, mark that down on my calender will ya," Sam said.

"Someday? When's that boss?" Spyke asked as the three walked away.

"The day after _never_," Sam said. "Alright. We're out of here."

Naruto was still a bit angry. Erika didn't notice that his pupils were slitted before they returned to their original round shape.

* * *

"I don't get it Naruto. Why don't you just do what I did?" Erika asked as she and Naruto walked through town. "Ask your parents to buy you a medabot."

"They tell me I have to save up my allowance," Naruto said sadly. "By the time I save up, I'll be so old I'll be a teenager. Hey hold up Erika. I wanna look at these medabots."

"So Naruto, have you decided?" the store clerk asked as he stood beside the door.

"You know each other?" Erika asked.

"I do a lot of window shopping." Naruto admitted.

"Hey check it out, we just got a new shipment! The CAR-type. If you want speed, firepower, this baby's got both. Or the BMT-type, even more firepower. And if you really wanna fly, there's the PLN-type. A little pricy, they're kinda pricy, but_ man_ are they worth it. Just let me know if you want one and I'll bag it up." The store clerk was obviously a good friend to the messy-haired kid.

"Wanting one isn't the problem," Naruto said sadly.

"Okay, how much money you got?" the store clerk asked.

"Well about..." Naruto admitted. He whispered the next part to the store clerk.

The store clerk shook his head. "I can't do it kid."

Naruto hung his head. "Awww."

"Although..." the store clerk said as though he remembered something.

He suddenly rushed behind the counter and began rummaging around for something. "Lets see."

The store clerk blew the dust off the box he had taken out. "Here we go."

"This might be more your price range," the store clerk said as he presented a KBT-type Medabot to Naruto.

"And as a bonus, I'll throw in that Tinpet on display. Then all you'll need is a Medal," the store clerk said as he held out the medabot.

"Ah, its an old KBT-type," Naruto said as he looked at the box.

"Its gotta be an _antique _by now," Erika said as she looked into its lifeless eyes.

"Does it even work?" Naruto asked as he wiped off a thick layer of dust with his finger.

"Doubt it. I think they were discontinued," Erika said. "I can't believe he's trying to _sell_ you this piece of _junk_," the girl said.

"Hey! This is a prime quality piece of merchendise!" the store clerk said defensively.

"No offense Henry," Naruto said. "But I think I'd get laughed at _more_ for having this then _no_ medabot at all."

Henry sighed. "Well I tried."

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. "Although... If I really need a medabot, I suppose I could buy it. Do you think you could hold onto it for another month?"

Henry nodded. "Sure. Anything for my favorite window shopper."

"Thanks Henry," Naruto said.

* * *

"I wonder if I should've bought that medabot?" Naruto asked himself as he and Erika walked across a bridge.

"Well don't buy it, otherwise I won't be able to be seen with you," Erika said.

"Erika," a synthetic feminine voice called out.

Naruto looked down the sidewalk and saw Erika's medabot Brass coming toward them.

"Hello Naruto. Thank you for taking care of Ms. Erika," Brass said with a bow.

"Yeah right Brass," Erika said waving her hand. "_I'm_ the one who's taking care of _him_."

"Heh, check it our Erika," Naruto said jokingly. "Your medabot's _way _nicer then _you_ are."

"Hey! I wouldn't hurt a fly," Erika said defensively.

"Ms. Erika, you are late for your piano lessons," Brass said calmly.

"Oh, you're right," Erika said as she and Brass ran off.

"Just keep saving your money, someday you might actually take me an Brass on for real," Erika said. "Robattle style."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."

He looked over the bridge and into the water.

"Man. Medabots are so expensive. Where am I gonna get that kind of money?" Naruto asked himself as he looked at his reflection in the water. "Why do I always feel so out of place? Its like I'm from a whole 'nother world."

As he looked out at the water, a gleam caught his eye.

"Huh? What is that?"

He rushed down to the bank to see what it was.

"Is that a coin?" he asked himself as he looked into the water.

What he pulled out wasn't a coin, but a shiny medal with a B emblazoned on the top corner. The picture of a larvae was in the middle, the green gem acting as the eye.

"Woah! It's a beetle medal! This is awesome!"

* * *

Later that night at home.

"Naruto. Is something wrong?" Hikari (Naruto's mom) asked. "You haven't touched your dinner."

Naruto sighed as he took the medal he found out of his pocket.

"I um... Kinda found this medal in the river today," Naruto admitted. "I mean I'm psyched about finding it, but I don't want to have it if that means someone else lost theirs."

Joso looked the medal over. "Well its rare to just _find_ a medal in the river."

Naruto looked it over again. "I should probably check the Missing article. Someone's probably looking for it."

Hikari looked worriedly at her son as he contemplated having to hand the medal back to its owner.

"Well. If someone lost it in the river and didn't try to find it, I'm not sure they care about it that much."

Naruto looked back up at his mother. This was the first time he remembered her saying something like _that_.

"I think it'd be okay if you kept it," she said with a smile.

A tear of joy escaped Naruto's eye. "Thanks mom!"

Naruto wrapped his arms around his mom.

_I guess this is what it means to be a mother_, she thought to herself as she returned the hug.

"Naruto. Be sure to feed salty," Joso said as he sipped his coffee.

"Oh, right. Thanks dad," Naruto said as he ran off to feed Salty.

* * *

The next morning, Erika and Naruto stood outside the former-SC meeting room.

"What! You were attacked by medabot bandits!" Sam said outraged on the other side of the door.

"It was awful," Spyke said from the other side. "They claimed a handicap match, and then attacked with three medabots."

"Stop whining will ya?" Sam ordered.

"Wow what a story!" Erika said excitedly on the outside.

"Erika what's going on?" Naruto asked.

"News gathering. Getting the scoop. The kind of thing a journalist like me lives for," Erika said excitedly.

The sudden sound of a door clicking caused Erika to jump away from the door and push Naruto down another hall.

"Right, lets move," Erika said as she followed after the Screws left.

"Well. See ya later," Naruto said.

"Not a chance Naruto!" Erika said as she grabbed his collar. "You know too much!"

* * *

Naruto, Erika, and Brass followed the Screws to an empty lot. A few trees were placed near the bridge and walls. A set of stairs was placed over a gradual slope.

"_Those_ are the guys who got you?" Sam asked Spyke as she looked at three odd-looking musicians sitting by a fence.

"_Them_? No chance. They were heavy metal rocker monsters," Spyke said confidently. "Not some skids I could beat with my eyes closed."

"Guys, check it out! Its that pathetic little medafighter," one of the musicians shouted.

The next moment, the seemingly-mundane people sitting at the fence changed to heavy metal outfits. Two had guitars, and one had an electric triangle. They had their hair in funky styles and makeup on their faces.

"Ahhhh! Boss its them!" Spyke screamed as he started to freak out. "Those are the ones that took my Medabot's brand new Bombarder."

"You guys got a lot of nerve muscling my gang like that," Sam said as she stood up to the heavy metal rockers.

Meanwhile behind a bush, Erika and Naruto conversed about the current situation.

"Ugh. Just what are they wearing?" Erika asked in disgust.

"Looks like anything that could be found in a mom's closet," Naruto commented.

The next moment their thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey who're those spazoids?" the pink-haired rocker asked.

"Don't worry boss, I'll get rid of them," Sam said in a weasly manner.

"Oh so you're with _them_ now?" Naruto asked as if he were expecting something along these lines to happen.

"I join the winning team! So what?!" Sam demanded, acting as if she weren't ashamed in the least.

"Sorry kid. No flash photography. Clashes with our light show," the yellow-haired rocker said as he swiped Erika's camera and began hitting the clicker.

"Ms. Erika," Brass said as she ran out from behind the bushes, only to be ambushed by two Blackram medabots. Another medabot, a Phoenix medabot, leapt into the air and launched a gout of flame for show.

"Watch out Brass!" Erika said as she ran to help her medabot.

"Hey little girl. Nice medabot you got there," the purple haired rocker said.

"Shame if something should happen to it," the blue-haired rocker added.

"Leave them alone!" Naruto said as he stepped forward.

"C'MON KID! LETS DANCE!" the yellow-haired rocker shrieked as he played his electric triangle.

"Don't waste your time boss," Sam said. "That kid doesn't even have a medabot."

"What? In this day and age?" the blue-haired rocker asked.

"Pathetic," the pink-haired rocker commented. "Man, I got no use for a kid. CAUSE HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A MEDABOT!!!"

Naruto was knocked back for some reason. Then Sam and the three rockers began laughing at him.

As Naruto pulled himself up, his thoughts were racing.

_Man! They're right! Without a medabot I can't do anything! Wait. THAT'S IT!_

"Erika! Hold on just a little longer! I'll be right back!" Naruto said as he ran up the stairs.

"Naruto! Where are you going?" Erika asked.

Naruto turned to Erika one last time before he left.

"Don't worry Erika. I'll be back," Naruto said with a look of determination in his eyes. "That's a promise. And I don't go back on my word."

At that moment, a lightning-quick wave of pain shot through his mind, almost as if memories of a past life had been dredged up.

_Ugh. What was that?_ Naruto asked himself as he ran home.

* * *

Back at the Tenryo residence, Hikari was tending to the flower gardens out front.

She turned her head to her right to see Naruto running home.

"Ah, Naruto. How was school?" she asked.

"Can't talk now!" Naruto said as he kicked off the front wall and vaulted through his bedroom window. The next moment he jumped down with his piggybank in his arms.

Hikari's eyes widened as she realized Naruto's recent display of agility must've meant that his old memories were beginning to come back.

_So its finally happened huh? Guess it woud've happened eventually._

* * *

A distance away, Henry was minding the store when suddenly, the doors burst open.

"Henry! Do you still have that medabot?" Naruto asked frantically.

"Yeah why?" Henry asked.

"Its an emergency! I need it right now!" he said frantically as he put his piggybank on the counter.

Henry recognized that look in Naruto's eyes. "Got it! Its behind the counter. I'll get the Tinpet."

Naruto nodded as Henry went to get the Tinpet from the display case.

A few minutes later, the medabot's parts were laid out in front of the shop with the tinpet lying on its back.

"Remember that the medabot has three main elements," Henry explained as Naruto assembled the medabot laid out before him. "You have the tinpet, which is like the skeleton. Then you have medaparts, the arms, legs, head and torso. These will determine your medabot's battle strength. Last but not least is the medal. Once you insert it into your medabot, it'll become its mind and soul."

Naruto was about to insert the beetle medal when Henry handed Naruto a white watch.

"Wait. Don't forget your medawatch. Once you install your medal, you'll be able to call your medabot from anywhere," Henry explained. "You'll also be able to command it by calling its name."

Naruto looked at the beetle medabot he had purchased. "I'll call him... Metabee."

"I've done all I can," Henry said as Naruto fastened the medawatch on his wrist. "I'll watch Metabee. You get going."

"Got it!" Naruto said as he inserted the medal into the watch.

Henry's eyes widened as he saw the medal Naruto had inserted. "Wait! Where'd you get that medal!?"

But it was too late. Naruto's feet carried him off at speeds that would make a track star jealous.

* * *

"C'mon! Lets robattle," the blue-haired rocker said as he played his guitar.

"Ms. Erika?" Brass asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Brass, I'd never make you robattle with these freaks," Erika said bravely.

"Aw c'mon, you might just win," the blue-haired rocker goaded.

"You'll never know if you don't try," the yellow-haired rocker goaded.

"After all. Someone's gotta lose," the pink-haired rocker commented.

_Naruto. Where are you? _Erika thought to herself as the rockers crowded around her.

"Keep your hands off them!" a voice shouted from down the street.

Everyone turned to the street adjacent to the lot they were standing in. Running down it was a kid wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt.

"Naruto! You came back!" Erika said as Naruto's face became visible.

At that very same moment, the three medabots crowded around Brass and were about to attack.

"Leave them alone you creeps! Try picking on someone your own size!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed a nearby trash can lid and jumped over the stairs and down to the lot.

Just as the three medabots were about to attack Brass, Naruto flipped the lid into the air and caught it by the end. He then reared his arm back and threw it out like a metal frisbee.

"WAAAH!" the Screws screamed as the three medabots and themselves barely avoided having their heads taken off by the flying lid.

"You wanna robattle?" Naruto asked as he held out his medawatch. "Then try me!"

"Woah," was all anyone could say as they saw the dent the lid made in the fence.

"Naruto... How did you do that?" Erika asked as awestruck as anyone else.

Naruto looked over to the fence. "I really have no idea. I just did it."

"Now! Like I said! You wanna robattle! Try me!" Naruto said as he held up his white medawatch.

"Then it is agreed!" Mr. Referee said from atop a scaffolding. "I officially declare this match a submission robattle. I Mr. Referee will act as referee so that no one gets hurt."

When he came down the scaffolding and hit the ladder, it broke causing him to land on his head.

The next moment he was up and running. "Medafighters ready? Medabots, ROBATTLE!"

"Metabee! Transport!" Naruto said as he pressed the TRANSPORT button on his medawatch.

A blue laser shot into the ground, then turned green. Next a ball of blue energy appeared. Out from the center was Metabee's body.

"Ahahahahahaha!" the rockers laughed as Metabee appeared. "Where'd you get that? An antique shop?"

"Wrong!" Naruto said defensively. "I got it from the Hopmart down the street!"

"Ms. Erika. Naruto came back for us after all," Brass said as she stood beside Erika.

Erika couldn't say anything just yet. _Naruto. Its like I'm seeing him in a different light._

The top of Naruto's medawath flipped open and tossed the medal into the air. "Go Metabee!"

Naruto inserted the medal, causing the clip to fold down and hold the medal in place.

A few moments later... Nothing happened.

"Hahaha! It doesn't even work!" Sam laughed along with the rockers.

"C'mon! Move!" Naruto shouted into his medawatch. Unknown to everyone else, his pupils began to slit.

Before anything else, the first Blackram attacked Metabee's unmoving body.

"You think you can challenge us with that piece of junk?" the blue-haired rocker said as the second Blackram attacked Metabee.

Metabee tumbled across the ground before coming to a rest on his rear.

"Take this!" the pink-haired rocker said as the Phoenix launched a gout of flame from its mouth.

"Lets end this!" the pink-haired rocker said as the flames subsided.

"I'll use the Bombarder. The one we scored off that other kid," the blue-haired rocker said as his Blackram took aim.

_Dang it! This thing won't even move! _Naruto shouted at himself as he stared at his medabot. _I can't believe I wasted my money on this stupid thing!_

Naruto's eyes slitted fully and became redder as his fists clenched. "RAAAAGH!!! MOVE YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK!!!!!"

Suddenly, Metabee's eyes shot open.

"RAAAAAAH!" it gurgled out as it forced itself up and shot the first Blackram down with its left arm part, the Sumbachingun.

"Woah," Erika and Brass said as the first medabot ceased function.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered as his eyes returned to normal. "Now advance and eliminate the other two!"

Metabee rushed forward, even before the command was issued.

"Phoenix! Stop him!" the pink-hair rocker ordered.

Phoenix shot a gout of flame at Metabee, only to have him dodge to the right.

"He dodged it," the blue-haired rocker said astonished.

"That thing's moving like lightning," the yellow-haired rocker added.

"Metabee! Finish them!" Naruto ordered.

Metabee reared his right fist back and slammed it right into the second Blackram, sending it flying into the Phoenix. The remaining two medabots were then sent into the rockers.

"We... surrender," they gurgled before passing out.

"Heh. I knew he'd win," Sam said with a smug look on her face.

"Then why did you bet on those other guys?" Spyke asked.

"All that power... could it be... A rare medal?" Henry asked from outside the lot.

"Well Erika, I kept good on my word," Naruto said. "You're safe, and that's all that matters."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Erika said trying to hide her blushing. "You ran away."

"But Erika, I just saved you from the rockers," Naruto said. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Correction. You called me a worthless piece of junk," Metabee said.

Naruto turned to his now very angry medabot.

"Who's the worthless piece of junk now tough guy?!" Metabee said as he glared at Naruto.

"Metabee! I order you to stand down immediately!" Naruto shouted. "Don't you dare point that at me!"

"I don't take orders from _you_!" Metabee said as he prepared to fire.

"Then again... Maybe its just defective," Henry said as he watched Naruto dodge gunfire.

While Naruto was running for his life, Erika was left to her own thoughts.

_Naruto, you really came back for me, _Erika thought to herself.

"Ms. Erika. You're cheeks are red," Brass pointed out. "Are you thinking of Naruto?"

"I- Er- Wha- No!" Erika said defensively as she turned around.

"Hehe. You've got it bad don't you?" Brass said as she watched the new medabot fire at Naruto.

_And apparently, so do I_, she thought to herself.

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Blackram 1  
****Right Arm - Bombarder**

**Blackram 2  
****Left Arm - Devil Arm**

**Phoenix  
****Leg Part - Red Tail**

* * *

**Well how do you like that? Naruto survives the Ten Days of Darkness to see the age of ten.**

**What will happen now that he has Metabee? You'll have to continue reading to find out.**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	4. Three Screws and One Baron

Naruto woke up the next morning, the recent robattle (and running away from his deranged medabot) had tired him out.

"Man. What a day," he said to himself as he stretched.

He looked around when he noticed a certain trigger-happy medabot was missing.

"Where'd Metabee go?" Naruto said as he scanned the room.

After shrugging his shoulders, he got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Before he got to the dining room however, another distinct pain shot through his head. It was soon ignored however as it went away almost as quickly as he came.

* * *

A while later, after Naruto had gotten breakfast and walked out the front door, he made his way to school. With his medabotin tow to his disdain at the moment.

"Metabee why are you following me?" Naruto asked.

"I ain't followin you. I'm my own medabot," Metabee said. "I go where I want to go."

Naruto cursed the star he was born under. "Why did I have to have a medabot like _this_?"

"Trouble in paradise?" Henry asked as he stepped out from behind a lamp post.

"Very funny," Naruto said as he gave Henry the death-glare. "You're the one who sold me this _deranged _piece of crap."

"Deranged?!?!" Metabee demanded at the insinuation.

"Hey don't look at me kid," Henry said. "You didn't buy anything defective from _my_ store."

"Oh really?" Narutosaid with a raised eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

Next moment, Henry pulled out a white board with some simple diagrams. "The medaparts you bought weren't defective, so the only defective element is your medal. Where did you get it anyway?"

"I uh... fished it out of the river," Naruto admitted.

"See, there's your problem," Henry said as he got behind Metabee and opened the back hatch. "Now lets take a look at this medal."

"GET! YOUR! HANDS! OFF MY MEDAL!!!" Metabee shouted as he rounded on Henry and began firing.

"What the hell's going on here!?!?" Naruto demanded.

"Don't look at me!!!" Henry shouted. "I'm not the one who inserted a defective medal!"

"Oh I'll show you _defective_!" Metabee roared as he began shooting at the lamp post.

"What do I do?" Naruto asked as he inched away from the edge of the pole.

"Hit the eject button on your MedaWatch," Henry instructed. "That should shut him down so I- _you_ can get to that medal."

Naruto quickly pulled up the EJECT mechanism on the MedaWatch and pressed the button.

**WARNING. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.**

"Dammit!" Naruto shouted as he pounded on the EJECT button. "Why the_ fuck_ isn't it working?!"

"Where'd you _learn_ that kind of language?" Henry asked at Naruto's sudden outburst.

"Always knew," Naruto said. "Just never had a good enough reason to use it."

Henry looked over the edge of the pole, only to retreat behind it a second later to avoid a very painful shot. "Well I guess _this_ is as good enough reason."

"What do you suppose we should do?" Henry asked as he pressed himself against the lamp post. "Metabee's gone ballistic and we're running out of post."

"One word," Naruto said. "RUN FOR IT!!!"

"That's three words!" Henry said as he and Naruto bolted, Metabee hot on their heels.

"Just run!" Naruto shouted as he ran into town.

* * *

That same time at the Amazake residence.

Erika was in her room looking at herself in the mirror. She wasn't too vain, but just made sure everything was in order.

From the doorway, Brass watched as Erika held different hair clips up and seeing how she'd look wearing them.

"Why Ms. Erika, I didn't know you wore berets," Brass said surprised, since this was the first time she'd seen Erika touch them since her mom got them for her. "Is there someone you're trying to _impress_?"

Erika's face turned beet-red before she put the hair clips into the jewelry box. "I-I-I-I don't know what you're talking about! Is there something weird about wanting to look nice?"

Brass chuckled. "No. Nothing at all."

Erika looked herself over in the mirror one more time. _Why was I even going through those hair clips? I mean I don't have a reason to. I'm a journalist after all. I don't focus on myself, I focus on the story._

Her mind flashed back to where her whisker-marked friend had come to her rescue with an obsolete medabot, and went as far as to win a three-on-one robattle to protect her.

"Although," Erika said to herself, "he did look pretty cute wearing that medawatch."

Brass chuckled. "Hehe. Someone's got a crush on the sun-kissed blond."

Erika pouted as she blew a held breath out. Brass chuckled once again.

* * *

At that very same moment back with Naruto and Henry.

"Get back here!!!" Metabee shouted as he chased the two through town firing his weapons.

"Keep running kid," Henry said as he and Naruto ran down another street. "If he catches us we're dead meat."

Naruto ducked in time to barely have a shot brush through his hair. "You think I don't know that?"

"Missile launch!" Metabee shouted as he fired missiles from his head.

Naruto quickly grabbed two nearby trash can lids and threw them like one would throw giant shuuriken.

The trash can lids hit the missiles midair, saving the two from one hell of a bad hairday.

"How'd you do that?" Henry asked, amazed at Naruto's ability to improvise so suddenly.

"No idea," Naruto said as he continued to run. A sharp pain shot through his head, but it soon died down.

The two of them ducked into a nearby mall and hid behind the directory.

"Is he gone?" Henry asked.

His question was soon answered when the crazed Metabee began firing through the open doors in their direction.

"Does this answer your question?" Narutoasked as he and Henry ran up the stairs to get away.

The chase lasted for several minutes, and by the time it ended, Naruto and Henry had run up to the roof and were looking for a viable escape route.

"Oh man, we're trapped," Henry moaned as he had looked for a ladder or something to use as a viable escape route.

"Well we certainly can't go back the way we came," Naruto said as he scoped the surrounding buildings.

"What makes you say that?" Henry asked.

"You two better get ready! Cause here I come!" Metabee roared from down the stairs to the roof.

"That," Naruto said as he ran over to the edge of the roof and looked down.

His gaze landed on two open dupsters situated below.

"Henry. We're going to have to jump," Naruto said as he climbed up onto the edge of the roof.

"Are you mad?!" Henry said as he shook Naruto's shoulders, "a fall from this height would kill you!"

"One, I plan on jumping into a dumpster," Naruto pointed out, "and Two. It has to be a whole lot better then facing a deranged medabot."

At that very moment, Metabee kicked the door out.

"Okay I'm with ya," Henry said as he and Naruto jumped into the two dumpsters situated four stories below the building.

With a sound that I don't know the onomatopoeia for, Naruto and Henry landed in their own individual dumpsters.

**Author's Note:  
Onomatopoeia is the word for a sound in _word _form (i.e. chirp, hoot, honk, screech, eeek, etc.)**

"Phew, that was a close one," Naruto said as he climbed out of a dumpster filled with furniture upholstery and memory foam. "Hey Henry, you still alive?"

"I'm, ugh, fine," Henry moaned as he crawled out the dumpster, which was filled with shredded paper, packing peanuts, and discarded fruit skins.

"Hehe," Naruto laughed as Henry fell on his face into a puddle of garbage water, "that's what you get for selling me a deranged medabot."

Henry moaned as he pulled himself up. He was covered in dirt, grime, discarded fruit skin, and his hair was soaked with garbage water. Naruto on the other hand skipped off (figure of speech) fresh as a daisy.

* * *

Naruto had successfully evaded his medabot's rampage and manage to get to school relatively intact.

"Oh man! I'm late!" Naruto moaned as he saw that the school gates were closed.

He did a quick perimeter check, which before that day he had no idea how to do. After the perimeter check, he hopped the fence, but fell over when-

"**TENRYO!**" a big booming voice said.

Naruto looked up and paled slightly as Coach Mountain literally towered over him.

"Uh. Good morning Coach Mountain," Naruto said weakly.

"Tenry, now that you've dropped, why don't you give me twenty," Coach Mountain said as he lifted the weight he held in his hand.

Before anything else happened, the school principal happened upon the scene and interjected.

"Ah, Naruto, its good to see you," the principal said as he helped Naruto to his feet. "You've become quite a celebrity in these parts."

"Eh?" Naruto said as he ran into the school to find a copy of the school newspaper up on the bulletin board. On it was a picture of Metabee punching the Blackram into the Phoenix taken from behind the left shoulder. Next to it was a short but drawn out article, with a few details exaggerated.

**A stunning victory was attained by Robattle Newcomer, Naruto Tenryo and his Kabuto-Style medabot, Metabee. He stopped the Punk Rockers dead in their tracks with a swift and resounding victory in the school yard yesterday afternoon.**

**Naruto commented that he knew Metabee was something special from the moment he saw him, and was eager to show off his robattle prowess. **

**"This is one of many victories I plan to obtain during my robattle career," Naruto Tenryo commented as the defeated Punk Rockers handed over their medaparts; Red Tail (Leg), Black Arm (Left Arm), and Bombarder (Right Arm).**

"Pretty good huh?" Erika asked as she walked up to Naruto. "In fact I think its some of my best work yet. I'm already sold out."

"Hold on," Naruto said with his eyes slightly narrowed, "I thought you said you didn't get any shots in."

"Well I lied," Erika said with a smug grin on her face. "Of course, I didn't want to make a hero out of you, but heroes sell papers, and it was a slow week."

"Wow, isn't that Naruto?" a girl student asked her friend.

"He took on a whole gang of medabot bandits," another student said enthusiastically.

"Naruto, how'd you do it?" another student asked.

"Um... I went with my gut," Naruto said, trying not to sound overconfident, since overconfidence could bite him in the butt later.

"Yeah right," Metabee said as he poked his head in through the crowd. "_I_ did all the work."

"Metabee what're you doing?" Naruto moaned. The fall had rattled his nerves a bit, and the crazed medabot being there didn't help things either.

"Signing autographs, for my fans," Metabee said from behind a cardboard box re-purposed as an autograph station.

"Metabee, I told you not to come to school," Naruto moaned as he rubbed his temples.

"What a weird medabot," one girl said.

"Won't even obey its medafighter," a second said.

"Must be busted," a third whispered.

At that comment, Metabee's eye started to twitch.

"**Kekekekeke!** **I. AM NOT. DEFECTIVE!!!**" Metabee roared as he open fired on the gathered students.

Before the ensuing panic, Naruto had grabbed Erika and pulled her out the window (first floor), effectively keeping her out of danger.

"That's _two _you owe me," Naruto said with a grin as he walked off to class.

"He saved me again," Erika said to herself as her cheeks heated up. _And my heart's racing again._

* * *

Naruto'sd ay at school was relatively uneventful. Aside from a few snide comments about a "bargain bin medabot", nothing really bothered him that day.

Sloan had challenged him to a robattle in the hallway, but an interception from Coach Mountain had everyone running for the hills. Naruto mentally laughed thinking that if they just ran like that when Coach _asked _them to, they wouldn't need to be afraid of him in the first place.

"First I get run around town by a crazed medabot, then I jump into a cubic ton of garbage," Naruto moaned as he opened his footlocker to get his stuff. "What the hell was I thinking when I _bought_ him."

_Oh. That's right. I said I'd save Erika. Not only that, but I _promised_ her. Guess there's no way around it then. I'll just have to take my lemons and make lemonade._

When he opened his locker, he found a note folded on top of his stuff. He opened it and read it silently.

**Naruto, we're in a serious quagmire on our part and require your assistance forthwith. Meet us behind the gym in ten minutes.**

**Signed, the Student Council**

"The student council?" Naruto moaned as he pocketed the note. "What do _those_ guys want?"

He sighed before leaving for the back of the school. He had nothing _else_ going for him.

After he left, a certain spiky-haired screwball slipped a note into his locker, but failed to slide it in all the way, and it fell out five minutes later and at the feet of the school principal.

* * *

Naruto dragged his feet behind the school to meet the student council. They were all the stereotypical Japanese school nerds; Pocket protectors, bottle-thick glasses, greasy hair, and a horrifyingly pale complexion. The whole nine yards.

"Naruto Tenryo, I'm glad you could make it here today," the Student President said.

"We've called you here today and require your assistance," the Student Vice President said.

"We'd really appreciate your help on this most dire matter," the Student Secretary said.

Naruto had been there for one minute, and already his skin was crawling. "Give me the back-story first."

The Student President straightened his glasses. "As Student President, I've fought long and hard against the evil Screws Gang."

"They won't obey a single school rule, and when we try and warn them, they sic their medabots on us," the Student Vice President explained.

"Which is why we tried to retaliate with our own medabot," the Student Secretary said. "But, they were just too powerful."

For a bunch of "textbook nerds", Naruto couldn't believe how dumb they were being. "Did you ever think you lost because of your _medabot configuration_?"

"I don't follow what you're saying," the Student President said.

Naruto reached out and grabbed the Student President's wrist, then transported Dr. Bokchoy to the field.

"For a bunch of smarty-pants, you sure are dumb," Naruto said. "Dr. Bokchoy has _zero_ combat ability. All he has are Scout-Type parts. If you want to actually fight, you'll need to use _combat_medaparts."

Naruto had hoped to get them to defend themselves, but they persisted.

"We-we were fully aware of that," the Student President said, tring to hide that fact that this was actually news to him.

"Anyway, that's why we called you here," the Student Vice President said.

"We need you to stand up for us!" the Student Secretary said.

"I don't know..." Naruto said. He had tried to stay away from the Student Council as much as he could. It wasn't that he _hated_ them or anything, but it was that some part of him always thought politicians were corrupt, but he could never really explain these feelings.

"Here is my proposal," the Student President said. "Defeat the Screws and I'll make you my _Vice President_. What do you say? Uh, Naruto?"

They weren't sure what was going on, but Naruto seemed to be making a strange face as he gurgled out some vague sign of distress. Of course, imagining yourself in bottle-thick glasses, pocket protectors, greasy hair, and button up shirts will do that to a guy.

"What's he doing?" the Student Secretary asked.

"Hold on, I recognize that face from somewhere," the Student Vice President said. "That's the "_Cookie_ Face", it appeared frequently on a TV show that aired in the twenty _first_ century."

"Odd, I didn't think anyone but _us_ knew about it," the Student President said.

Naruto shook himself out of that nerd-themed nightmare and spoke up. "Different deal. You give me that Point Radar medapart afterwards and we'll call it even."

At that the Student Council's faces lit up.

"Excellent!" the Student President said. "Once those Screws have been defeated, we'll bolt down on them harder then ever."

_I don't like this one bit, but I figure a Scout-Type medapart will come in handy down the road_, Naruto thought to himself.

"There's only one last detail that needs to be addressed," Naruto said getting the Student Council's attention. "My medabot isn't here, and I don't know where he is. Before I help you, I need to find Metabee."

"Ah ha! Now that is where we shine," the Student President said. "Dr. Bokchoy. Track down Metabee."

"Scanning Medawatch signature now," Dr. Bokchoy said as he scanned the frequency of Naruto's medawatch.

"Metabee signature detected three blocks due east," Dr. Bokchoy said as he finished his analysis.

"You guys corner the Screws," Naruto instructed. "I need to find my medabot."

Before anyone could object, Naruto had already leapt over the school fence without even _touching_ it.

* * *

Naruto had run the three blocks east like he had been instructed to, and so far he hadn't seen any sign of Metabee.

"Man, where is that crazy medabot," Naruto moaned as he stopped to take a breather.

"Hello son," the Chick Salesman said from the wall next to Naruto.

"Eyai! Don't startle me like that!" Naruto said.

"Tell me. Do you know what happens to my chicks when they grow up?" the Chick Salesman asked.

"They'll grow up to be chickens," Naruto said. _Honestly, only a total _dupe_ wouldn't know that._

"What I'm saying is you should stop running so much," the Chick Salesmand said. "If you slow down and take a look around, you might just find what you're looking for."

Naruto looked over his right shoulder and saw Metabee being dragged away in a net by Henry.

"Henry!" Naruto called out, getting the store clerk's attention, "just what do you think you're doing with _my _medabot."

Metabee's hopeful look when Naruto noticed him disappeared in place of a snide one. "Yours? I'm my own medabot!"

"Regardless, I still paid for him," Naruto said with narrowed eyes.

"Oh come on, you seriously can't be happy with a defective medal," Henry said.

"That isn't the issue here!" Naruto said, catching Henry and Metabee off guard. "Metabee's my very first medabot, and I won't give up on him. He's a great medabot, and I'll take him from you."

"By force if necessary," Naruto said as he assumed a rough fighting stance.

Henry sighed as he let Metabee out of the net.

"Naruto," Metabee said as he was helped up. "Even after all that crap I put you through this morning, you still came back for me. Thanks."

"It was nothing really," Naruto said. "After all, you'd do the same for me. Now c'mon, we have a robattle to win."

Metabee nodded. "I hope those guys are ready, to kiss their bots goodbye," he said with a clenched fist.

* * *

Naruto and Metabee arrived at the park with an almost magical swirl of leaves behind them. At the park were the Student Council blocking the exits, and the Screws moaning about the Principal trying to robattle them in Naruto's place.

"Gotta hand it to you for coming here," Sam said in a snide tone, "but all the same you're going to lose."

"Don't count on it," Naruto said with a smirk.

"And you'd better be ready-" Metabee said.

"To kiss your bots goodbye!" Naruto and Metabeesaid in unison while pointing at Sam and Peppercat, catching everyone off guard at the dramatic effect it held.

Metabee and Peppercat faced off as the fountain behind them started to bubble.

"Then its agreed, I declare this a submission robattle," Mr. Referee said as he stripped out of his scuba outfit. "Medafighters, are you ready?Medabots, Robattle!"

Naruto quickly analyzed all factors that could influence this robattle with the eye of an expert tactician.

_Metabee: Shooting Medabot.  
Peppercat: Melee Medabot.  
Field: Flat - Composition: Dirt.  
Obstacle: Fountain (medium)._

_Got it. Peppercat uses electric attacks, if I can get her into the water, this match will be finished before it even started._

"Metabee, this is what you'll do-" Naruto whispered into his medawatch.

Metabee nodded at the plan. "Got it."

"Peppercat attack!" Sam ordered.

While Erika stood by with her camera, Peppercat charged at Metabee and pounced.

"Now Metabee!" Naruto ordered.

Metabee dropped onto his back and kicked Peppercat into the fountain. A large splash and blue electric sparks issued forth.

"What!?" the Screws said in shock.

"Amazing strategy," Erika commented. "By tossing the electric Peppercat into the fountain, he's taken the spark right out of her."

"NYEOWW!!" Peppercat shrieked as she tried to pull herself from the fountain.

**ALL PARTS - 10% DAMAGE. **

**ALL PARTS - 25% DAMAGE. **

**ALL PARTS - 35% DAMAGE.**

"Don't let Peppercat escape Metabee!" Naruto shouted.

"Rocket Launch!" Metabee roared as he fired at Peppercat.

In a double missile collision, Peppercat's parts reached 100% damage and her medal ejected.

"Function ceased!" Mr. Referee declared. "The winner is, Metabee!"

"Great job Metabee," Naruto said.

Metabee was surprised that he was being thanked, but then returned the sentiment. "Thanks for the battle plan. Things would've turned out differently."

"Its over," Sam cried as she fell to her knees. "The big cheese is going to cut us into little bite-sized pieces."

"The big cheese?" Naruto asked.

"Hold on! Are you talking about Baron von Banish?" Erika asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. It's said he controls the whole school, and that he runs this whole area behind the scenes."

"But I thought no one had _seen_ the Baron before," the Student Vice President mused.

"Perhaps we'll finally see him in the flesh," the Student President said.

"Baron von Banish... This is just the scoop I've been waiting for," Erika said.

"Hold on," Naruto said. "Just why are you guys afraid of him if you serve under him?"

Sam sighed. "It isn't by choice that we serve him."

"Huh?" everyone but Naruto said with questioned expressions.

"It was a couple years ago," Sam lamented. "We lost a high-stakes robattle, and the circumstances were that if we lost, then we had to serve him as his eyes and ears."

"Is there any way to get you out from under his heel?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, but there is," a deep voice said.

Everyone turned and gasped (minus Naruto and Metabee) at the sight of a tall figure wearing a large blue Japanese school uniform. He wore a blue lieutenants hat with a notch in the briim, and the shadows hid the upper part of his face. On his left wrist was a white and black spiked medawatch.

"In order for the Screws to get out from under my heel," he said grimly, "someone outside our group has to defeat me, with _their_ freedom on the line."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Very well then. I accept your challenge!"

"Huh?" the Baron said.

"You heard me," Naruto said with a grin on his face. "I challenge you for the Screws' freedom!"

"Woah. Didn't see that coming," the Student Secretary said.

"Wait don't!" Sam pleaded. "You still have your freedom. Don't waste it on us."

Naruto's eyes turned crimson before returning to their ocean blue color. "If its one thing I can't stand, its guys like him that think_ might_ makes _right_."

"Hahaha! Very well then. Its your freedom on the line!" the Baron said as he transported his medabot. "Go! BANISHER!"

In a flash of blue light, a large dark blue medabot appeared. It had white trim, and gold spiked knuckles.

"I hope you enjoy _servitude_ boy," the Baron bellowed. "Cause under _me_ you'll get plenty of that!"

Naruto tapped a set of commands onto his medawatch and hit the Transfer button.

"Transfer medapart," Naruto said as Metabee's right arm glowed blue before being replaced with the Scout-Type medapart, Point Radar (Dr. Bokchoy's right arm).

"When'd you get the new medapart?" Metabee asked as he examined his new arm.

"I got it as payment from the Student Council," Naruto said. "I hope you're a fast learner, cause I don't intent to lose to the likes of him!"

"Medafighters, are you ready? ROBATTLE!" Mr. Referee announced.

"RAAAAAAH!!!!" Banisher roared as he charged at Metabee.

"Missile Launch!" Metabee shouted as he fired twin missiles at Banisher.

The missiles impacted, and a massive plume of smoke billowed forth from the point of impact shrouding Banisher.

"He... He did it!" Spyke cheered. "He beat-"

"RAAWR!!!" Banisher roared as he lunged out of the smoke and punched Metabee right in the gut.

"Oh my!" Erika said as she recorded the whole event.

**RIGHT ARM - 20% DAMAGE.  
LEG PARTS - 30% DAMGAGE.**

"Oh man," Sam moaned as Metabee just took a quarter-percentile of damage. "And here I thought we could finally be free."

"So much for that Boss," Spyke said as tears streamed down his face.

Naruto saw this and felt something in him turn. "Metabee, can you still get fight?"

"Ugh, yeah," Metabee said as he picked himself up off the ground. "Not sure how many more of those I can take though."

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the Baron laughed as Metabee warily pulled himself up. "Me and Banisher aren't as weak as Sam and her Peppercat. You've got no chance of winning, and soon I'll have a new_launtryboy_."

_"Metabee, Banisher is too strong to take head on,"_Naruto whispered into his medawatch.

_"What?! Then how're we supposed to beat him?"_Metabee spoke through the medawatch

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Naruto said.

"See boy, this is what happens to those who oppose me," Baron said. "Just save me the trouble of beating you into the ground and surrender already!"

"Hah! Not on your life!" Naruto declared, shocking everyone there. Most people couldn't even say the Baron's name without becoming fear-stricken, but here was a kid who only started robattling yesterday, and already he was facing opponents like this like a _true _medafighter.

"This fight isn't over until the last man standing!" Metabee said.

"Metabee! Fire your missiles into the ground!" Naruto ordered.

Without a moment's hesitation, Metabee did as he was instructed and fired two missiles. The shock of the impact coupled with the dirt in the ground created a thick pillar of smoke.

"What the! I can't see anything!" Baron cursed as he had lost sight of both Metabee _and_ Banisher.

"Point Radar, activate," Naruto said as he remotely activated Metabee's right arm.

A low hum echoed off the point of the radar, and all forms of targeting information flooded Metabee's optical receptors.

"Keep scanning and fire your Submachingun!" Naruto ordered.

From inside the smoke, the sound of gunfire and impacts could be heard for several minutes before the next orders were given.

**HEAD UNIT - 36% DAMAGE.  
LEFT ARM - 21% DAMAGE.  
RIGHT ARM - 18% DAMAGE.**

"Woah! Amazing!" the entire Student Council cheered.

"Banisher! Don't just stand there! Attack!" Baron ordered.

Banisher charged through the smoke in the direction the shots were coming from, but as soon as he left the field of smoke, all he found was the blone-haired medafighter.

"What! Where'd Metabee go!" the Baron demanded.

The smoke cleared, revealing Metabee was standing by the fountain.

"RAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Banisher shouted as he turned on his heels and got ready to charge.

"Metabee! Fire at the fountain!" Naruto shouted.

Metabee fired a hole through the side of the fountain, letting a stream of water shoot out at Banisher.

"Stupid kid!" the Baron scoffed. "Banisher doesn't _use_ electric attacks."

Naruto smirked, the water Metabee had let loose having done its job.

"Banisher! What's wrong?!" the Baron demanded as he saw that Banisher wasn't moving.

His eyes widened in horror as the water not only struck Banisher in the face discombobulating him, but also spread out onto the field around his feet.

"Now Metabee!" Naruto ordered. "Lets finish this thing and go home!"

"Yeah! Cause now its payback time!" Metabee said as he tilted his head forward. "Missile Launch!"

The missiles struck Banisher head-on and knocked him to the ground.

"Don't just sit there and take that!" the Baron roared. "Get up and fight!"

"GRAAH-" was all Banisher could get out before his bulk pushed the muddy soil out from under him, sending him into the mud face-first.

"Kiss you bot goodbye," Metabee said nonchalantly as he raised his left arm and fired on the downed Banisher. Using the target information he gathered earlier, he managed to aim at most of Banisher's weak points while he tried to get out of the mud.

After a few shots, Banisher's medal finally ejected.

"Function ceased!" Mr. Referee declared. "The winner is, Metabee!"

Baron von Banish pounded the ground with his fist.

"Screws! Attack the boy and Metabee!" the Baron ordered in a fit of rage.

A smirk creased Sam's face.

"Sorry, _boss_, but we don't work for you anymore," Sam said. "Naruto just beat you and earned us our freedom."

Baron's eyes narrowed and his anger hit its peak. "SHUT IT!!!"

"Ahhh!" Spyke and Sloan screamed as the Baron raised his fist to strike Sam.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto roared as he rushed forward with the running speed of a _Kenyan_.

Before he knew what hit him, the Baron was flat on his back.

"Woah. Did you just see that?" Spyke said.

"Yeah. He just decked the Baron," Sloan said.

Erika looked into her video camera, which had captured the entire spectacle on film. "Guys! I got it all on tape! Take a look!"

Brass, the gathered Student Council, and the Screws all looked into the camera.

In the small frame was the image of Naruto rushing forward, kneeling down, and nailing the Baron in the jaw with a right-handed uppercut.

"Woah!" Brass said amazed. "Who knew he could move like that."

"Remind me not to get _him_ angry," the Student President said.

"Man that hurt," Naruto whined as he shook his hand to make it stop stinging.

"Uh. Naruto," Sam said as she walked up to him. "Thanks. For everything."

"It was no problem really," Naruto said. "Besides, I can't stand guys like that anyway."

Sam nodded. "Well, thanks anyway."

Naruto smiled as he and Metabee left the park for home, a brilliantly setting sun placed before them.

* * *

"Naruto. I have a question for you," Metabee said some time down the road.

"Hm," Naruto said as he looked to his medabot.

"After all the crap I put you through, you still came back for me. Why'd you do it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm not sure really. I guess I just did."

Metabee remined silent, but felt a bit more respect for his blonde haired friend, no, medafighter.

"So what're you going to do with Baron von Banish?" Metabee asked.

"I'm not sure really," Naruto said. "If he becomes too much of a problem, I suppose I could call in the Select Corps. to deal with him."

"The Select Corps.?" Metabee asked. "Who're they?"

"Well..." Naruto said trying to remember what he'd been told. "As far as I know, they're kind of like the twenty first century's INTERPOL. Whenever medabot-related crime springs up, they're the ones who're called in to deal with it."

"Oh, so they're like _super_-police," Metabee said.

"Ehhh. I wouldn't go that far. Once or twice there have been a few _personell_issues," Naruto said. He remembered the case with this one guy whose name he couldn't remember procuring money from the investigation budget to pick up women by taking them on lavish dates.

"Sounds hairy," Metabee sid.

"It doesn't really matter," Naruto said.

Metabee nodded. "Well. Lets go home."

Naruto nodded as Metabee followed.

* * *

Meanwhile.

As everyone else left the park, Erika looked back into the camera again.

"I still can't believe what happened here today," Brass said. "Not only did Naruto and Metabee challenge the Baron, but they also won the Screw's freedom."

"Yeah," Erika said as her thoughts were elsewhere.

"Hehe. I knew it, you're totally crushing on him," Brass chuckled seeing the look on Erika's face.

Erika's mouth hung open as she tried to mutter some form of protest. Her cheeks were heating up too for that matter.

"Well. Lets go home Ms. Erika," Brass said. "Or should I say, Mrs. Erika _Tenryo_. Hehe."

Erika remained silent as she watched the footage she got again.

"Hey wait a minute," Erika said as she paused the camera right before Naruto decked the Baron. "Why are Naruto's eyes _red_ here?"

"I don't know," Brass said. "Maybe its Red-Eye."

"No, my camera filters that out," Erika said.

"Well it could be glare from the setting sun," Brass said. "I mean after all, Naruto's eyes have always been blue, and I've never once seen them turn _red_ before."

"Hmmm. This has the makings of a good scoop," Erika said. "But without any real evidence to go on, It'd be the same as one of those tabloid-_trash_ magazines."

"I suppose you are right," Brass said.

"Well, anyway, lets go home," Erika said after closing the camera.

"I'm right behind you Ms. Erika," Brass said as she followed.

******Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Peppercat  
Righ Arm - Lightjump**

**Banisher  
****Leg Part - Klip Klop**

**Student Council  
Right Arm - Point Radar**

* * *

**So, how'd you like my first robattle scene? Pretty good huh? (of course that's why I'm asking you the question)**

**Point to make, Naruto and Ikki (both at the same age) are two entirely different individuals, so of couse Naruto's actions would be different then what Ikki's were.**

**More Medabots. More Power.**


	5. Run Like the Wind!

It was another beautiful day at Riverview Elementary. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the Screws were shuffling across the school courtyard... Wait what?

"Come on! Move it you maggots! I want to see your eyeballs sweat!"

At that very moment, the now liberated Screws Gang was shuffling across the field, their eyelids heavy and their movements sluggish courtesy of Riverview Elementary's own Coach Mountain. From a "safe" distance away, Naruto and Erika were watching the whole spectacle.

"Man, I've never seen those three so tired before," Naruto commented. "What do you think happened?"

"He probably caught them with their medabots out," Erika said. "Remember not to bring your medabot to school, or else it'll be _you_ out there."

Naruto nodded. "Got it. No medabots."

"I WANT TO SEE YOUR ELBOWS SWEAT!" Coach Mountain roared as the Screws shuffled around the yard for another lap.

"Yo! Naruto! Over _here_!" Metabee shouted while waving by the school gates.

Coach Mountain looked over his shoulder to see a brightly-colored medabot waving to someone in the school courtyard.

"Crap! Metabee's here!" Naruto cried. Before Coach Mountain could connect two and two together, Naruto quickly ran over, grabbed Metabee, and pulled him out of Coach Mountain's view.

"Hey, what'd I do?" Metabee asked.

"You almost got me a free membership in Coach Mountain's workout club," Naruto said.

"Huh?" Metabee asked with a tilted head.

* * *

A safe distance away from Coach Mountain on the bridge by Riverview River.

"Aw c'mon. I'm sure the guy isn't _that _brutal," Metabee said.

"Brutal? Ha. That's putting it nicely," Naruto said. "The kids at school call him the Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Muscle Machine. Once he gets his hands on you, he'll run you right into the ground."

"I heard he used to be a Strong Man at the circus and that he bench-pressed elephants," Erika said. "And he stopped an erupting volcano by plugging it up with his butt. I also heard he chiseled out the faces on Mt. Rushmore with his bare hands."

"Wow. This guy's awesome. He's my hero," Metabee said, astounded by the tales of strength told about Coach Mountain.

"Although that last one is more of an exaggeration," Naruto said. "Also, before you go kissing his volcano-cork, I should let you know that he _hates _medabots."

"Yeah, he says medabots are for weakling and make him wanna wretch," Erika said. "Maybe he had a bad experience with one or something."

Metabee sighed.

"For the time being, can I count on you to stay away from the school?" Naruto asked. "And if you have to be there, hide in a tree or behind something."

Metabee nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

**Author's Note:**

**I just made up the name for the river since I don't really know if it has an actual name or not. If it does, let me know and I'll be sure to fix the problem the next time its an issue.**

* * *

"I've finished marking your tests," Coach Mountain said. "The average grade was eighty percent. However several students proveb to be _dismal failures. _Anyone who scored less than thirty percent will be joining my fun-filled after-school club. A healthy body makes a healthy mind. So that's why I'm going to make those students run-"

Everyone in the class gulped.

"_UNTIL_ THEIR _BRAINS_ SWEAT!!!" Coach Mountain finished.

Naruto and Erika looked to each other, then to the face-down test papers in front of them.

"Phew, ninety two," Erika said with a sigh as she wiped some imaginary sweat from her forehead.

"Thank goodness. I got an eighty seven," Naruto said with a sigh as well.

"Hey, I wonder how the Screws did," Erika said.

Both her and Naruto turned to the back of the room and saw the Screws holding their test papers with shaking hands. It was obvious they'd be running- "_UNTIL_ THEIR _BRAINS _SWEAT!!!"

_Man, those guys are toast_, Naruto thought to himself. _If there's an alternate version of me in another reality who has to take this test, I hope he's at _least_ as smart as me._

And as we all know by now, hoping doesn't solve anything.

* * *

And of course when it comes to the Screws and Coach Mountain, there's usually words exchanged like-

"I WANT TO SEE YOUR ELBOWS SWEAT!!!"

Or-

"I WANT TO SEE YOUR EYEBALLS SWEAT!!!"

And of course being caught running in the halls, falling asleep in class, pouring hot soup on his hands, and dropping an ice-cold bucket of water the next day didn't help their situations either.

Later that day, Naruto was watching the Screws run more laps. From a safe distance of course. They were steadily dropping like flies, which would've been hilarious if it weren't so pathetic.

* * *

At the 24-Hour Hopmart.

"You guys don't look so good," Henry said to the three Screws lying on the floor.

"Coach Mountain's going to burn us out," Sam moaned. "Every time he sees us he makes us exercise. I think he's finally lost it."

"Guys! Guys check it out!" Erika said as she came into the store holding her camcorder. She opened the screen and showed the footage.

**Footage**

SMASH!

SMACH!

"Jab with the right!" Coach Mountain ordered.

SMASH!

"Again!"

SMASH!

"Good!"

The view zoomed out to reveal Coach Mountain roaring at a grey medabot. The medabot was punching a hole with its right fist into the side of the school.

**Footage End**

"That reminds me," Naruto said. "On the way home the other day, I saw him with this huge wad of cash."

"Hey, we also saw him talking to these two guys at school," Sloan spoke up. "And they didn't look like teachers either."

"Yes! Now this is a new story!" Erika cheered as she held her camcorder above her head like she was under a spotlight. "A wad of cash, shady characters, and a gym teacher who's not what he appears."

"So, Coach Mountain is getting his medabot to collect our sweat so he can sell it to mad scientists," Sam said.

"I wonder what they'd do with it," Spyke mused.

"They could do a lot with the amount I sweat," Sloan said.

"Uhhhh..." was all Naruto could say before-

"Okay, first we figure out what Mountain's up to, then we expose him," Erika said. "Its not right for him to profit off your pain."

"Right! We work hard for our sweat!" Sam said. "If anyone's going to make money off it, its going to be me."

"Right on!" Spyke said.

"You said it boss!" Sloan added.

At the other side of the store, Metabee was reading a periodical from a nearby shelf.

"Is it just me, or has the sun fried their _brains_?"

* * *

That following evening.

Erika, the Scres, and Naruto all followed Coach Mountain from the school and into the city. The sun set, and the city was ebbing into the night.

After wandering through a maze of florescent signs, night clubs, drunken idiots, and a slew of weirdos, everyone finally caught up to Coach Mountain. Well... Almost everyone.

"Well, looks like we lost the Screws," Naruto said. Right now he and Erika were in a back alley. "Maybe we should just go home."

"No way Naruto! We can't turn back now!" Erika said.

"Yeah, but we don't even know where he went," Naruto said.

The next moment, the sound of crunching metal could be heard a short distance away.

"It's a robattle!" Metabee cried as he ran down the alley.

"Metabee wait up!" Naruto called out as he pulled Erika behind him.

When they rounded the corner, they came upon the sight of a downed Coach Mountain and a trashed Digmole medabot.

"Coach Mountain! Are you all right?" Naruto asked as he and Erika helped him up.

"Sir, did they hurt you?" Erika asked.

"Hey watch it kid!" a weasly guy in a brown suit said. "My brother and I are business men. We don't _have_ to use violence to get what we want, but your teacher, he wanted to robattle."

Naruto glared at the two weasly-looking businessmen, one in brown, and the older in blue wearing tinted sunglasses. His eyes landed on an imposing-looking ELF-Model medabot, otherwise known as the Megaphant.

"We say, what the heck, won't cost us anything," the younger brother said. "But he couldn't even put up a decent fight, not with that piece-of-junk medabot. He doesn't even know how to use it."

Naruto's eyes landed on the downed Digmole. Its armor and parts had several deep dents, and it was amazing that its functions hadn't ceased yet, as it tried to get back up on its own.

"He should've spent more time training his medabot and less time training himself," the younger brother said.

"Coach Mountain, is this true?" Naruto asked.

"Go home! This has nothing to do with you!" Coach Mountain ordered.

"I say let 'em say. These kids are going to see us _crush_ you, _and_ your dreams of turning this place into a park," the younger brother said.

"A park?" Naruto and Erika asked.

"Mister!"

The next moment three neighborhood kids came out and clung onto Coach Mountain.

"Mister, please, you've done enough for us. We don't want to see you get hurt," a little boy said.

"We don't need a park, we can play in the alleys," a little girl said.

"Who're these kids?" Erika asked.

"We live around here," the little boy said, "but there's no park to play in, so whenever we play outside we get road rash."

"Then this angel man fell from the heavens and said he'd build us a park," another little boy said.

"That's right. I've been saving up all the money I can to build a park for these kids," Coach Mountain said. "But these guys want the land too."

"So whoever wins this robattle gets to buy the land," Erika said, connecting everything that had been happening.

"Yes, but it was so hard just to save up for it, I couldn't afford good medaparts, and I haven't been eating right," Coach Mountain said. "That's why I collapsed, but I have to end this... And win this robattle... For the sake of these kids!"

"Mister!" the little kids said as they clung to his legs.

"Wow, he really is my hero!" Metabee cheered.

"Digmole! This is our last chance!" Coach Mountain roared.

Digmole righted himself and charged head-long at Megaphant. "I'm on it!"

Before he could even get one swing in, Digmole was knocked down by Megaphant's Iron Ball attack.

"No. I guess... its all over," Coach Mountain said in defeat.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"A pink hippo slide..." Coach Mountain muttered. "And horsies on springs... A swing made of an old tractor tire... My dream is slipping away..."

"Well well," the older brother said, "I was so looking forward to this, thought I'd have a tougher opponent though. Too bad, didn't even count as practice."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Hold it right there! We aren't finished here!"

The older brother turned around and glared at Naruto. "Hm?"

"I'll fight you in Coach Mountain's place!" Naruto shouted. "The land on the line in a submission robattle."

The older brother's eyes glinted. "Heh. You've got guts kid."

"But boss-" the younger brother pleaded.

"Shut it! I'd like to have at least one decent robattle today," the older brother said as he stepped forward. "Alright kid! You're on!"

"No Naruto! You can't win, he's too strong!" Coach Mountain said.

Naruto's eyes met the older brother's. "We'll just see about that!"

"I will not rest until I see those kids swinging from monkey bars!" Metabee roared with a clenched fist. "I swear it!"

Naruto helped Coach Mountain over to the sidelines as Metabee faced Megaphant. "You just sit tight. I'll get these kids their park or die trying."

"Then its agreed!" Mr. Referee said as he made a very Mario-esque appearance via a vertical plumbing pipe. "I officially declare this match a submission robattle. Medafighters ready? Medabots! ROBATTLE!"

"Metabee! Go for the head-shot!" Naruto shouted.

"Hell yeah!" Metabee roared as he fired with his Summachingun. However, Megaphant blocked the attack with its shields and nailed Metabee with its Iron Ball attack.

"Eyaaaaah!" Metabee cried as the attack sent him into the side of a nearby gravel pile.

**WARNING. **

**LEGS DAMAGED. 65 PERCENT REMAINING. **

**RIGHT ARM DAMAGED. 42 PERCENT REMAINING.**

"Naruto. If you're going to come up with something, do it quick," Metabee said as he shook the gravel off him. "I'm not sure how much longer I can last out here."

_C'mon think!_ Naruto shouted to himself as he analyzed the field and all variables.

_Megaphant- Shields, Iron Ball attack, caterpillar treads._

_Field- Construction zone: Gravel_

"I've got it! Metabee! Run over that gravel heap!" Naruto shouted.

Metabee looked behind him and saw the gravel heap. It only took him an instant to figure out what his medafighter was thinking. "You got it!"

"Don't let him escape!" the older brother shouted. "Megaphant! Finish him off!"

Megaphant did as it was told and rushed Metabee as he climbed over the gravel heap. As Metabee ducked down low, Megaphant flew right over him.

"There's his weak point!" Naruto shouted. "Open fire!"

"You got it!" Metabee shouted. "Missile Launch!!!"

The twin missiles flew out of their barrels and hit Megaphant right where its shields couldn't reach. The resulting explosion destroyed its leg parts and sent Megaphant flying into a nearby pile of steel girders.

"Don't let him escape!" Naruto shouted.

"Lets finish this-" Metabee shouted.

"FOR THE KIDS!!!" the both shouted in unison. Metabee quickly opened fire with all his weapons before Megaphant could raise its shields. A moment later its medal ejected.

"Function ceasted! The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee shouted.

"Dude. I rock," Metabee said as Megaphant's body collapsed.

"Tenryo! Thank you!" Coach Mountain said as he pulled Naruto in a hug and cried tears of joy. The little kids hugged Naruto too, while the two businessmen cried at their defet.

"Look. A happy ending," Metabee said as he helped Digmole off the ground.

"Yep. Just like a fairy tale," Digmole said.

* * *

The next morning however...

"There's nothing more unhealthy then playing outside late at night!" Coach Mountain roared as Naruto, Erika, Sam, Spyke, and Sloan all ran... er, shuffled around the school courtyard. "It makes you tired! And weak! Another fifty laps outta wake you up!"

"I can't believe this," Naruto moaned as he kept shuffling, "I save his volcano-plugging butt and _this_ is the thanks I get."

"No back-talk! And when you're done running laps, I have a new playground to water," Coach Mountain shouted. "WITH YOUR SWEAT!!!"

Upon that declaration, everyone who was running moaned.

A short distance away in a nearby tree, a certain Kabuto-Style medabot sat in a tree with his head resting on his hand.

"Hehe. I'd help, but medabot's _don't_ sweat," Metabee chuckled as he watched the spectacle from his perch.

"_Thank_ goodness," Digmole said as he rested under the shade. "Thank goodness for that."

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Megaphant**

**Left Arm - Great Shield**

**More Medabots. More Power.**


	6. Rumors of a Legend

It was a new day in Riverview. The sun was shining, the sky was slightly cloudy, and school was set to begin in a few minutes, maybe half an hour.

Naruto Tenryo, a young boy who had only begun robattling a short while ago, was minding his own business while walking to school when suddenly-

"Look out!"

The next thing he knew, he was knocked off his feet and into a nearby wall. "Ow. What's the big idea?"

When he looked up, he saw who could agreeably be the prettiest girl he'd ever seen before (though in his defense he was only ten years old). She had orange hair tied in pigtails, slightly-pale skin, and blue eyes. She wore a cream-colored shirt, a dark-green skirt, white socks and black shoes, and had a blue backpack.

He also noticed she must've pushed him out of the way of a kid in a tiny go cart with a radio strapped to the back. _Although was pushing me out of the way really necessary?_

"Oh. You've scraped your elbow," the girl said, noticing that Naruto had scraped his left elbow in the fall. "Here let me get that for you," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief and tied it around Naruto's elbow. "Well. I'll see you later."

As the orange-haired girl left, Naruto immediately noticed that on her backpack and on her left sleeve she had an emblem of a pink flower on it.

"Hmmm. Where have I seen that emblem before?" Naruto asked himself as he ran off to school. _I guess I can always find her later and return her handkerchief. _

* * *

"Fast as the wind... Quiet as the forest... Explosive as a fire... Solid as a mountain..." Erika explained drawing the attention of several other students. "According to my sources, this medabot has yet to lose a _single_ robattle."

That statement caused everyone to gulp.

"But there's more. This invincible medabot belongs the Legendary Medafighter, a commander with super-human abilities."

Everyone gasped at that last comment.

"Where'd you hear about this?" one student asked.

"From one of my _most _reliable sources," Erika said. "A friend of a friend of a friend's cousin's hairdresser's nephew's dodgeball player."

"So who _is _this Legendary Medafighter?" another student asked.

"That's the thing, no one knows," Erika answered. "But I hear the Legendary Medafighter goes to Rosewood Private School."

While that was going on, Naruto looked out the window, his own thoughts moving their due course.

_I remember now. That emblem was from Rosewood Private School. I'll have to drop by there later and give back this handkerchief._

"Really? The school for super-rich kids?" one student asked, interrupting Naruto's train of thought.

"Man, I'd love to step into the ring with a medabotlike _that_," Metabee said, determination burning in his eyes to face this legendary medabot.

"Well you may just get your chance," Erika said. "I'm doing an expose on the Legendary Medafighter. All I need to do is track him down and get his statement!"

"_His _statement?" Naruto asked. "Sounds a bit sexist to me. For all you know, the Legendary Medafighter could be a _girl_."

"Oh come _on_! Name _one _girl who's a great medafighter," one of the students said in a cocky tone, challenging the validity of Naruto's statement.

"Sam from the Screws Gang," Naruto answered flatly.

The other students snickered at him, saying he just got dissed by the blonde.

"Naruto! We have _got _to follow up on this!" Metabee pleaded. "I _have _to face this legendary medabot!"

"Alrigh then. I'll go," Naruto said. "Besides, I have my _own _business to settle also."

* * *

The next day.

"_This_ is the school?" Erika said in absolute awe. Before here were massive solid-gold gates, probably 24 karat.

"Its _huge_," Brass said in complete awe.

"Its so _bright_," Metabee said, raising his arm to shield his optical receptors.

"I wonder if the _students _are this bright?" Naruto asked jokingly as he lowered his gaze.

At the end of that comment, a male student in a dark blue uniform was tossed out a side-gate. At that instant Naruto pulled Metabee, Erika, and Brass aside, into the bushes out of sight.

"Oh come on! I just want to challenge the Legendary Medafighter!" the student pleaded.

"Sorry kid, but the economically challenged aren't allowed here," the guard, who was quite large and well-muscled, said with a deathly-cold gaze.

As the student slumped away, Erika pulled Naruto back down into the bushes.

"It seems that the only way we're going to get in there is by that guard," Erika surmised.

"But Ms. Erika, that guard is even bigger than Coach Mountain," Brass said. "How're we going to get past _him_?"

A smug grin creased Naruto's face. "Guys. I think I may have an idea."

* * *

"Oh man. I look _ridiculous_," Metabee whined as he came out from behind the bushes, wearing a white button-up shirt, blue shorts, and an orange hat with his "horns" sticking out.

"Oh come on Metabee, I think you look kind of cute," Brass chuckled, now wearing a Japanese school girl uniform. Although it was kind of weird to look at since that was what her build was _based _upon already.

"Just hurry up," Erika said. "If we don't get in there soon, someone else could walk in and challenge the Legendary Medafighter before _we _do."

_Now that I think about it, if the only ones allowed in Rosewood Private School are _students, _then the number of opponents may be _skewed _slightly, _Naruto thought to himself. "Still. I _do _need to get this hankie back to her."

"You say something?" Erika asked, not fully hearing what he had said.

"Nothing. Lets go," Naruto said. "Just follow my lead and have your stories straight."

Naruto, Erika, Metabee, and Brass all walked past the guard in a nonchalant way, their backpacks emblazoned with Rosewood Private School stickers. They weren't perfect, but hopefully it'd be enough to get them past the guard.

"Excuse me," the guard said, catching everyone where they stood. "Where are your uniforms?"

"Sorry about that," Naruto said trying to keep a straight face, "but the butler accidentally spilled our egg-white caviar omelets on them this morning."

"Once they're clean, they'll be dropped off at school," Erika said. "Probably before lunch."

The guard huffed. Seems he believed it.

"_Lets get out of here," _Naruto whispered. _"Best not to push our luck."_

"Thank you for understanding," Brass said as she followed Erika away from the gate.

"Yeah. See you later," Metabee said as he followed Naruto. _Or not._

* * *

An hour of wandering around later.

"Good grief," Erika moaned. "Just how far do the students have to walk?"

"I don't think they _do _walk to school," Brass commented.

"You're tired already?" Naruto asked. "We've only been walking for an hour and I feel just fine."

"Naruto," Erika said exasperated, "you need to understand that your levels of stamina and dexterity are hardly _human_. The fact that you're able to survive Coach Mountains _gym_ period is a testament to that."

A slight twinge of pain went through Naruto head, however he barely registered it. _Why do I feel like I've been told that before?_

At that moment, a helicopter flew overhead.

"**Students. It is against school rules to come to school via helicopter. Please land in the tennis court and report to the principle's office. Thank you for your understanding," a voice said over the school intercom.**

"Dang. These kids _must _be rich," Metabee said.

"Well wadya expect?" Naruto said. "The _gates _are twenty-four karat gold for Christ's sake."

Erika was about to scold Naruto on that comment, however she noticed something through the trees. "Hey look at that! A ferris wheel."

"They have a ferris wheel on their _playground_?" Naruto asked.

"Well these _are _rich kids we're talking about," Metabee said. "Wouldn't put it past them if they flew _real _airplanes instead of _paper _ones."

"FORE!" a voice called out.

"Incoming!" Brass called out as a small white object came right at them.

CLANG

"KYAKYAKYA!" Metabee cried as a golf ball came out of nowhere and struck him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground with a crash.

"Someone... Help me..." a voice pleaded.

"What was that?" Erika asked.

"Don't know. Could be someone in trouble," Naruto said. "C'mon. Lets see what it is."

Naruto and Erika immediately followed the sound of the voice. After walking through the bushes, they found a dirty-looking kid with messy hair and ratty clothes tied up in a net with a GLM-Type Medabot.

"Please... Get me out of here..." the boy pleaded.

Naruto grabbed Metabee's right arm and aimed it above the net. "Metabee. Fire shotgun."

"W-wait! Don't do-" was as far as the kid got before the net fell out of the tree and hit the ground with a thud.

"Who are you anyway?" Erika asked as the kid got himself out of the net. "I may not be a rocket scientist, but I can tell _you're_ not the Legendary Medafighter."

"The name's Eddie," the kid said. "Two years ago I scaled the wall to look for the Legendary Medafighter. And I'm still looking."

"_Two _full _years_?!" Brass said in complete shock.

"Explains the smell," Naruto said under his breath.

"You! You must be the Legendary Medafighter! I'm sure of it!" Eddie said pointing at Naruto as soon as he noticed him.

"You're kidding right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm here looking for him or her_ too_."

"That's the perfect _cover_!" Eddie said. "Looking for him so no one'd suspect its _you_!"

"Naruto! _You're _the Legendary Medafighter?!" Erika said in complete shock.

"OF COURSE NOT!!!" Naruto blurted out. "This guy is just a_ nutcase_!"

"C'mon Legendary Medafighter!" Eddie shouted as he righted Glomeg. "I challenge you to a robattle!"

The next moment the sound of a horse neighing and the rolling of wheels could be heard down the path. A minute later a white steed pulled up bearing an elegant white carriage.

"Rosewood Private School is no place for petty squabbling," the rider said as he came out. He wore the standard boy's uniform for Rosewood, had purple eyes, and parted black hair. "This institution is an oasis of tranquility. Free from the violence of the outside world."

"You! _You _must be the Legendary Medafighter!" Eddie said, suddenly turning on the newcomer.

"Yup. This guy is _clearly _a nutcase," Erika said upon noticing how fast he totally forgot about Naruto.

"You seem to have some anger issues," the 'pretty boy' said. "Allow me to offer some counseling. Transfer: Sumilidon!"

In a flash of light, a yellow, cream, dark blue, and brown-colored medabot with a green optical receptor emerged. Its left arm was a large hammer-like tool while his right arm had three large dark blue claws. In other words, the STG-Type medabot.

"I'll have you know," the boy said, "_no one _has lasted for more then a minute against my Sumilidon."

"Go Gloomeg!" Eddie shouted.

Gloomeg started up by firing his rockets at Sumilidon, however he dodged out of the way and was upon Gloomeg within seconds.

"So fast," Erika said.

SLASH! CLANG! CLUNK! SWISH! SLASH!

**Gloomeg. Function ceased.**

"Oh man. I lost," Eddie said in defeat. "Just take whatever parts you want."

"Don't need them," the boy said as he got back into his carriage. "I've got all the parts I need, and some I don't. Ciao."

"He's _so_ cool," Erika said in awe of that robattle and the 'pretty boy's' good looks.

"More like _conceited _if you ask me," Naruto said. "Doesn't matter anyway. Lets keep going."

"Hey. Where'd Eddie go?" Erika asked.

"Who cares. Lets just go," Metabee said. "I don't want that Tarzan-wannabe getting to the Legendary Medabot before _I _do."

* * *

Naruto and company continued on in the forest until-

"Look out!"

The next moment, Naruto and Metabee ended up in the bottom of a pit, Erika and Brass on top of them.

"Hey what's the big idea pushing people into holes!" Erika said. Her attention was diverted from the girl when she suddenly noticed that several bear traps, spears and knives, along with large spiked balls had gone off.

"This place has a lot of security features," the girl said. "I wanted an electronic one, but the principle said bear traps were more humane."

_Humane my ass!_ Naruto thought to himself. "Erika, Brass, not that I don't mind being squished in the bottom of a hole, but can you get off my back please?"

"Here. Let me help you up," the girl said as she helped Naruto out of the pit. When Naruto saw the girl, he remembered that she was the one he'd met yesterday.

"Oh, I remember you," Naruto said as he got to his feet.

"You're the nice boy from yesterday," the girl said. "Though I never got your name."

"Its Naruto Tenryo," he said. "What's yours?"

"Oh, my name's Karin. Karin Junlei," she answered.

"Hold on! You _know _this girl?" Erika asked, giving Naruto a funny look.

"We uh... met each other yesterday," Naruto said, not wanting to divulge any _embarrassing_ details. "But Karin, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" she asked.

"We're looking for the Legendary Medafighter and hear that he or she goes to Rosewood Private School," Naruto said. "Think you could help us get there? I don't want to risk my friend's safety with any more traps."

"Well sure I can get you there," Karin said. "Just follow me."

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto, Karing, Erika, Metabee, and Brass all found themselves on a medium-sized rowboat, crossing the crystal-clear lake that surrounded Rosewood Private School. Naruto sat at the front with the paddles, Erika and Kari in front of him, Metabee and Brass at the back.

"So you said you were looking for the Legendary Medafighter?" Karin asked.

"That's right. Erika is doing an expose on him or her, and I'm kind of tagging along for the ride right now," Naruto said. "After all, _someone _has to keep an eye on her."

Erika growled at that comment. "What're you insinuating?"

"Anyway," Naruto said trying to not make Erika angry again, "you wouldn't happen to know who the Legendary Medafighter is, would you?"

"I'm afraid not," Karin said.

Naruto sighed. "Oh well. At least we're narrowing it down. Kind of."

The next moment Karin looked over the side of the boat and nearly tipped it over. However, before anyone could fall out, Naruto quickly grabbed both Karin and Erika and pulled them back into the boat.

"Be careful Karin," Naruto said. "You could've tilted the boat over."

"Sorry about that Naruto," Karin said as she got back to her seat. "I just thought I saw a penny at the bottom of the lake."

_She nearly tips the boat for a _penny_? _Naruto thought to himself. When he finished with that thought, he noticed that Erika was still holding his hand. "Um. Erika. Why're you still holding my hand?"

Erika's cheeks turned a bright red color before she turned away from Naruto in her seat. "No reason!"

"Hey Brass, why is Erika's face so red?" Metabee asked.

"Oh... its girl thing," Brass said waving Metabee off.

Metabee sighed.

"Oh look. There's the school," Karin said pointing just across the lake.

Everyone looked up and saw what was probably the largest school they'd ever see. Around it were thick stone walls with naval gates at intervals around its circumference, several small buildings around a large hill, and what looked like a white-hewn castle at the top overlooking the whole lake.

"Holy_ cow_! What do they teach you at this school? Stair Climbing 101?" Metabee asked in utter shock.

_Wouldn't put it past these _rich _kids to come up with a class like_ that, Naruto thought to himself. "Well c'mon guys. We'll be there in a minute," he said as he paddled to the first gate. "And please, don't tip the boat."

"Sorry," Karin said.

* * *

As soon as everyone got to the school, they were immediately greeted by a high walled foyer with elegant crystal chandeliers, fine paintings on the walls, exquisite vases on pedestals, and finely-polished suits of medieval armor situated between the pillars. On the floors were ruby-red carpets with gold ornamentation lining the edges.

"Uh. I was kinda kidding about the stairs," Metabee admitted after seeing the large flights of stairs in front of him.

"So this is Rosewood Private School huh," Naruto said as he looked around. As far as he could see, there were snooty stuck-up kids in every direction. "Kinda feel out of place here."

"You're an odd one Naruto," Karin said. "Most people wouldn't _admit _to that."

"Well what can I say," Naruto said. "I just keep my thoughts clear and honest."

"Honest huh? I like that," Karin said with a kind-hearted smile.

At that statement Erika suddenly looked in Karin's direction, an evil-esque glare in her eye.

"What's with her?" Metabee asked.

Brass sighed. _Boys are so dense._

"Brass, follow me," Erika said after walking away from Karin and Naruto. "We need to collect as much information on the Legendary Medafighter as possible."

"I'll come too," Metabee said as he followed behind.

"Wait guys," Naruto said as the three of them ran off down the halls. "What do _I _do?"

As his friends faded off into the distance he sighed. "Hey Karin. Mind if I just follow you? I'm afraid I'll get lost otherwise."

"Why sure Naruto," Karin said with a smile. "It wouldn't be any problem at all."

* * *

After Erika left with Brass and Metabee to do her own thing, Naruto followed Karin through Rosewood Private School. For some reason, he got irritated looks from most of the guys in the school, while the other half gazed at Karin with glazed-over looks.

_I don't like the looks those guys are giving me, _Naruto thought to himself. _I feel like I've gotten those looks before._

When they weren't walking from the school, Naruto was content to just look at the lake from the windows. Seeing the crystal-clear waters calmed him for some reason. While he did this, he noticed that Karin was mopping the floors. A minute after she started, three Rosewood girls came up to her and started talking to her.

While it wasn't his place to eavesdrop, he figured besides looking at the lake he had nothing else to do. He knew he had _another_ reason for being there though, but he couldn't remember at the moment. _Lets see what they're saying._

"Look, its Karin. Mopping the floors again?"

"You sure like to clean."

"Uh huh."

"Don't forget the toilet. I clogged it."

"Have fun Karin."

"I always do."

_Well that was odd, _Naruto thought to himself.

A few minutes later, Naruto noticed that Karin had begun cleaning one of the marble pedestals lining the halls.

"Um. Karin. You do something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Of course not," Karin said.

"Then why do you clean the school?"

"Oh that? I do it all the time?"

This brought up a few questions in Naruto's mind.

_A rich girl who likes to do manual labor, and then there's the thing with the penny in the lake... Could it be that she can't afford the tuition, so she cleans to pay the money... _Nah_, that wouldn't make any sense. I mean _c'mon,_ this school has solid gold _gates_. It'd take a lot more then _cleaning _to pay tuition for a place like this._

"Hey Karin. Don't forget I want your lunch tomorrrow," one student said to Karin.

"Yeah. And I want your cake and cookies," another said.

"Sure thing," Karin said.

"You're a very good kid Karin," the second student said.

"Karin, why are you giving those guys your lunch?" Naruto asked.

"No reason," Karin said with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a toilet to plunge."

This brought up more questions then answers.

_So now she's giving guys her lunch? Doesn't make that much sense, considering everyone here is rich and all. Still, I suppose a nice girl like her has her reasons. She doesn't seem like one to bottle up her emotions, so I'm sure there's a logical explanation for her behavior. I won't push the issue at the moment._

"Well, since I can't follow Karin any further then the _door_, I guess I'll see what Erika and the others managed to dig up," Naruto said to himself as he walked off. _Still, I remember there was _something _I needed to do here. I guess I'll remember later though._

* * *

After what felt like forever, Naruto finally found a very exhausted Erika slumped over a notepad. Since Metabee and Brass were medabots though, they couldn't _feel_ fatique.

"Hey Erika. You find anything on this Legendary Medafighter?" Naruto asked as he took a seat on the steps next to her.

"See for yourself," Erika said as she passed Naruto her notes. "I must've interviewed half the school, and that's all I got."

Naruto eyed the notes with a bit of intrigue. A few minutes his eyes widened. "What the heck is _this_?!"

"Yeah, I know," Erika sighed. "_Not_ the best notes ever."

"I'll say," Naruto admitted as he read through the notes again. "Eight feet tall, all left feet, feet growing out of his head, uncle is Godzilla, 16 pairs of shoes, brother is Big Foot? This stuff is a bunch of _garbage_!"

"I know," Erika said with a defeated sigh. "Seems everyone had their own opinions about the Legendary Medafighter. The only _real _piece of information that seems useful is at the back of the notes."

"End of the notes huh?" Naruto said as he looked back into the notepad.

**The Legendary Medafighter seems to be connected to a mysterious maiden (Possibly his girlfriend). Is supposedly cute, sweet, and wears her hair in pigtails.**

"Pigtails?" Naruto asked.

"There must be at least a _thousand _girls like that in this school! It could be _anyone_!" Metabee said.

* * *

It was later in the day. Karin had finished her toilet plunging, and for some reason, now she was following Naruto and Erika around.

"So. Any luck finding this Legendary Medafighter?" Karin asked.

"No. Not really," Naruto said. "Shame too. I was looking forward to fighting him or her."

As Karin regarded that comment, she noticed a single rose had fallen from one of the bushes. "Oh look. A rose." When she reached to pick it up, her hand suddenly jerked back. "Ouch. A thorn."

And then he remembered. "Oh, I remember now. Here, take this" Naruto said as he took out the handkerchief Karin had lent him the other day and wrapped it around her hand.

"My handkerchief," Karin said as she remembered she had given it to Naruto. "You brought it back to me?"

Naruto nodded. "Well, you _did_ lend it to me after all. Its only right that I brought it back to you."

"Thank you Naruto. You're such a great friend," Karin said as she looked into Naruto's ocean-blue eyes.

"Hey you! Get your dirty hands off Karin this instant!" a snide voice demanded.

Everyone turned to the stairs of the school and found the 'pretty boy' standing there, staring at Naruto with anger-filled eyes, standing beside him was Sumilidon.

"Hey look! It's the rich guy!" Erika said.

"Koji?" Karin said with her head tilted to her side.

"I'm assuming you know him?" Naruto asked. Karin nodded.

"I've had my eye on Karin since kindergarden. _I'm _the one who had to grow up with Karin through those _awkward _years," Koji said like he'd given this speech before. "You think you can just walk in here and lay your un-manicured hands on her? Think again groundling."

"_Groundling_!?" Naruto repeated as his eyes narrowed. It was just something about that smug smile on the guy's face and the way he talked _down _to him that made Naruto's blood boil. It was almost like in a past life or something he'd gotten that alot.

"I'm not sure what he meant, but I'm sure that sounded like a threat," Metabee said as he clenched his fist. "Lets give this pretty boy a _makeover_!"

"No. Please stop," Karin pleaded.

"Alright listen up Koji or whoever the hell you are!" Naruto shouted as his own fists clenched."I don't know what your relationship with Karin is, but if you're going to talk about her like she's some _prize _to be won, then that's where I draw the line!"

Koji's eyes narrowd. "Hey don't compare _me _to_ you_ groundling!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed further, and for a moment, they changed from ocean-blue to a dark blood-red. "_That_ is_ it_! Metabee! Lets take this guy down!"

"You got it Naruto!" Metabee said as he readied his laser cannons.

"Then it's agreed," Mr. Referee said as he came through one of the tunnels wearing medieval armor. "I officially declare this match a submission robattle. The rules are simple. The first medabot to stop the other from functioning wins. The loser must then submit one medapart to the winner, for keeps. Medafighters ready? Medabots... ROBATTLE!"

Sumilidon immediately rushed forward with his claws readied. Metabee fired with his machine gun, however Sumilidon dodged around the shots.

_He's fast_, Naruto thought as Sumilidon came behind Metabee and lashed out with his hammer fist. Metabee quickly tried to turn around and get Sumilidon, however he stopped Metabee's arm and struck him in the back with his claws.

_Even though he's a heavy-weight, he's still faster then Metabee, _Naruto said as Sumilidon dashed behind a statue to avoid Metabee's attacks. _We'll need to force him into a corner or something. _

"Sumilidon! Finish him!" Koji shouted.

As Sumilidon charged Metabee, Naruto's mind finally found Sumilidon's weakness.

"Metabee! He's coming from the right!" Naruto shouted into his medawatch. "Grab both his arms and hold him still."

Sumilidon quickly grabbed Metabee's right arm and pointed it away, while swinging his right arm at his unguarded side. Metabee responded by stopping it with his free hand, forcing the two of them into a deadlock.

"Metabee! Prepare to fire a point-blank missile attack!" Naruto shouted into his medawatch.

Koji's eyes widened as Metabee lowered his head to fire his missiles. _What the- He's stopped Sumilidon's attack like it was nothing! And while using an outdated medabot at that! Just who in the world is this kid?!_

As Metabee was about to fire the attack at Sumilidon's unguarded flan, a shrill scream met everyone's ears.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Help me!" Karin cried as Eddie and Gloomeg carried her down one of the walkways and to the top of the school.

"Karin!" Koji called out. "We'll finish this later. Karin! Don't worry, _I'll _save you."

"Metabee! Drop Sumilidon and grab onto my back," Naruto instructed as he headed to one of the walls. "That Eddie guy has finally lost it!"

"Got it!" Metabee said as he threw Sumilidon to the ground and ran onto Naruto's back.

Without even thinking about it, Naruto scaled the wall using the handholds and footholds available and made his way to the walkway at nearly inhuman speeds.

"_Woah_! Did you just see that?!" Erika said in complete shock.

"I know! He just scaled that twenty foot wall in two minutes!" Brass said. "But hurry up! We'll miss the action!"

Erika snapped out of it and followed Koji down one of the corridors. "Right Brass!" _Could this have anything to do with how he beat the Baron?_

* * *

Since Naruto took that "shortcut", he was the first to make it to the top of the school where Eddie had taken Karin. Right now he was standing atop the highest tower which stood a good twenty feet above the rest of the school, Karin tied up in a length of rope while Gloomeg stopped her from falling (or running away, whichever comes first). The only entrance to the tower was probably locked from the inside.

"I, Eddie, robattle champion of Satchridge Elementary demand a robattle with the Legendary Medafighter!" Eddie demanded, using a megaphone he had somehow gotten his hands on. "If you don't come out, you won't be getting your girlfriend back!"

Naruto let Metabee off his back and looked at Eddie. "Hey you! This is kidnapping! Give Karin back or else!"

"Aha! I knew it! You _are _the Legendary Medafighter!" Eddie shouted.

At that moment, Erika, Brass, and a shocked Koji came through the door.

"What the! How did the _groundling_ get here before _I _did?" Koji demanded.

"I climbed the wall and shaved _off_ a few seconds," Naruto said smugly.

Koji growled, while Erika and Brass pulled out their camera and boom mic.

"I'm Erika, chief journalist for Riverview Elementary," Erika said into the camera. "I'm standing at the roof of Rosewood Private School where Crazy Eddie has taken a young girl hostage. Crazy Eddie, how do you feel right now?"

"I feel like robattling the Legendary Medafighter!" Eddie shouted. "Now quit interrupting me so I can _robattle_!"

As the air grew tense, a horde of male students suddenly poured out onto the roof. "Karin! _We'll _save you," they all said together, in a very creepy manner.

_Talk about pathetic_, Naruto thought to himself. "Alright listen Eddie! I don't care if you hunt down the Legendary Medafighter, but unless you release Karin, you'll have to deal with _me_!"

"Transport medabots!" all the guys said as they suddenly brought out all their medabots. "Medabots! Prepare to fire on Gloomeg!"

"Those idiots! They'll hit Karin if they fire _now_!" Naruto said as he realized that Gloomeg was standing right next to Karin. "These guys are so desperate to impress her they aren't even _thinking_! Metabee, fire your missiles into the door and follow me!"

Metabee complied as he quickly fired his missiles into the wooden door. However when the smoke cleared he had only put a few dents in it.

"Naruto! The door isn't down yet!" Metabee said as Naruto grabbed his shoulder and ran straight for the door.

"Then we'll _make_ one!" Naruto said as he threw himself through the remains of the door and into the tower. "Hurry! To the top!"

* * *

Back outside, Erika was about to further document this when a hoard of male students suddenly poured onto the roof.

"Where'd all these students come from?" Brass asked.

"I don't know, but I can't see anything!" Erika complained.

"Transport Medabots!"

The area behind Erika suddenly lit up as dozens of medabots were suddenly transfered.

"Medabots! Prepare to fire on Gloomeg!"

The next moment there was an explosion at the base of the clock tower, then a blone-haired kid ran through the remains of the door and headed for the top.

"Ms. Erika. I think Naruto just went into the tower," Brass said.

"Oh no! They'll hit Naruto if they fire!" Erika cried. "Hey you guys! Tell your medabots to back off!"

"Its no good. These guys are so caught up in the moment they aren't thinking straight!" Koji cursed. _If _any _of them hurt Karin, they'll have alot more to worry about then my Sumilidon._

Erika looked up and saw Eddie and Gloomeg in a panic as the dozens of medabots suddenly launched their attacks right at them. The next moment Naruto and Metabee appeared on the roof behind them.

"Naruto! Look out!" Erika cried as the attacks collided on the top of the tower, causing a large billow of smoke to hide the top of the tower from view.

As the smoke settled, everyone waited on baited breath.

"Naruto..." Erika cried, a tear going down her face at the thought of her friend being hurt. The next moment there was a bunch of coughing noises.

At that instant Erika and Koji pushed their way through the horde and to the front of the crowd. Both of them let out a sigh of relief as Naruto pulled a slightly fazed Karin and Eddie out of the tower while Metabee dragged out a damaged Gloomeg .

"Thank goodness," Erika said with a sigh of relief. _For a second there, I thought Naruto had gotten hurt._

"Are you two okay?" Naruto asked.

Karin coughed a bit. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Just a little dazed."

"You- you saved my life," Eddie said as tears of joy streamed down his face.

"Don't worry Karin! _We'll _save you from these savages!" the horde said as they redirected their medabots at Eddie _and _Naruto.

_Not good! Even if Gloomeg and Metabee worked together, there's just too _many_ of them!_ Naruto cursed to himself. _I'd take a miracle to get us out of this mess!_

"Shame on you, ganging up on the two of them like this!" Karin said as she squirmed out of the ropes and placed herself between the horde and Naruto. "If you want to robattle someone so bad, then why don't you try _me _instead? Transport: Neutranurse!"

In a bright flash of light, a pink and white Nurse-Type medabot appeared. As the ends of her pill-shaped arms glowed, a heavenly wave washed over Naruto, Metabee, Eddie, and Gloomeg, causing all of their injuries/damage to heal.

"Karin, you're so _cool_!" the horde said all at once.

Naruto smacked his forehead. _Good grief. What's with these guys?_

"Ms. Erika. The male students seem to have calmed down," Brass said, noticing the sudden change in mood.

"Well, I don't think anyone really has it _in_ them to fight someone like Karin," Koji admitted.

"Wait a minute..." Naruto started as the gears started to mesh. "Karin, have _you _ever lost a robattle before?"

Karin put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmmm. Come to think of it, I never _have _lost."

"Ehhhh?!" was Erika's response (along with the horde's). "You mean _she's _the Legendary Medafighter."

"It would seem so," Karin said innocently with a smile on her face.

"Told you it could've been a girl," Naruto said to himself under his breath.

* * *

An hour later after Koji chased off the mindless horde, the school day had finally ended, and the sun was _just _beginning to set. Karin had called her butler for a ride home, and at that moment Naruto, Erika, Metabee, and Brass were all waiting at the tennis court.

"Well... I _kinda _got my expose," Erika admitted. "Although I'm not sure _this _is what people wanted to hear."

"Well that's the thing about rumors," Naruto said. "They all start out from a grain of truth, but eventually they'll spiral out of control."

"Wise words," Brass said. "I suppose the same thing can be said for _all _rumors."

Naruto nodded.

"Hey Naruto. There's something I need to ask you about," Metabee said.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"How'd you scale that wall with your _bare hands_?" Metabee asked. "I didn't think you knew how to do that?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side in though. "Scaled a wall? Are you sure that's what happened?"

"Well if you don't believe _him_, I've always got the video," Brass said as she folded the side screen out from the video camera.

Naruto looked into the small screen of the camera and found, to the truth, images of him scaling a twenty foot high stone wall with his bare hands in a matter of seconds.

"Wow. I sure don't know how I did _that_," Naruto admitted.

"Yeah. I mean a feat like that is hardly human," Erika said. "There was also the time you knocked the Baron flat on his back, where you were running faster then I'd seen _anyone _run before."

"Probably an adrenaline rush or something," Naruto said. Though in reality, he hardly knew his own strength.

"Well, our ride's here," Karin said looking up. As the wind picked up, a pink helicopter touched down and the doors opened.

"You sure this is okay?" Metabee asked. "You know, giving us a lift and all."

"Well of course it is," Karin said with a smile. "And after all, you did save us, and Naruto too."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing really. I did what _anyone_ would've done."

As they were about to get on, Naruto felt someone tap his shoulder. After turning around he realized who it was. "Koji? What do you want?"

Koji shifted on his feet like there was something he wanted to say. "Thanks for saving Karin."

"It was nothing really," Naruto said.

"Anyway, I hope you'll robattle against me and Sumilidon again some time," Koji said. "After all, we still need to finish our match."

Naruto smiled and put his hand out. "Sure thing. Its hard to find good opponents anyway."

Koji acted disgusted by Naruto's gesture, but reluctantly shook his hand. "Think of it as an honor to be shaking my hand."

Naruto simply smiled as he kicked Koji in the shin, sending him to the ground winching in pain. "It was nice meeting you too."

As Koji rubbed his bruised shin, Naruto hopped into Karin's helicopter and closed the door behind him.

"Naruto. I'll be sure to face you again," Koji said to himself.

"Hey Koji. Think you could give me and Gloomeg a ride home?" Eddie asked from behind one of the bushes.

His answer came in the form of a death-glare.

"Never mind. I'll walk," he said as he made a hasty retreat back into the forest.

* * *

As Karin's helicopter flew over the Rosewood property, Naruto decided that there was something he needed to ask.

"Hey Karin, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Naruto said.

"What is it?"

"Why do you clean the school if you don't _have_ to?"

"It's a hobby," she said with a smile.

Naruto scratched the side of his head. _Makes sense... I _suppose_._

"Something else I want to ask you," Naruto said. "Why were you giving those kids your lunch?"

"My butler makes a ten-course meal, and there's always extra," Karin said.

_I guess that makes sense too_, Naruto thought.

"Hey I just thought of something," Erika said. "I remember seeing the Screws following us on the way to the school gate. Where do you suppose they went?"

Metabee shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows. Those screwballs could be _anywhere_."

"Hehe. _Screwballs_," Brass chuckled.

* * *

Meanwhile on the grounds of Rosewood Private School. Several of the bear traps had been triggered, spears had been launched (kitchen knives too), and spiked balls fell from who-knows-where.

At the same time, three kids were stuck in a net hung from a tree.

"Man. What the hell just happened?" Sam moaned as she and the others swung in the net.

"Don't ask me Boss," Spyke said. "I was too busy running from the bear traps."

"I can't feel my legs," Sloan complained. However that was just because of the bottom of the net, and not because he got hit by a trap.

* * *

**For what Eddie said when he held Karin hostage, I wasn't completely sure what school he said he was from, so I just wrote what I **_**think **_**he said.**

**Also, if I'm wrong about a character's eye color, please tell me so I can make those corrections.**

**Oh, and no medapart winnings _today_ since his robattle was interrupted.**


	7. Life is a Beach

**Before the chapter begins, I'd like to address something a few people have mentioned to me. They say that the only thing I've changed is Naruto replacing Ikki as the main protagonist.**

**Up until now, there have been minor changes to the storyline of Medabots. That's where I'd like to quote "The Butterfly Effect".  
****To put it simply, the Butterfly Effect is where you change something small in the past, and as things progress, the changes gradually get larger and more noticeable.**

**Anyway, that's all I had to say on the matter, so now let's continue with this chapter. And sorry about the mini-rant.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Naruto, Erika, Metabee, Brass, and Joso had all made their way to the beach in the family minivan. As soon as they got out, four out of the five of them were utterly amazed. Naruto was wearing dark blue trunks with orange stripes on the sides, Erika a pink bathing suit, Joso in green trunks, and Metabee in a wide-brimmed sun hat while Brass had a light blue umbrella over her shoulder.

"Woah! It's the beach!" Metabee said as he looked at the white sand and blue ocean waves.

"It's so beautiful," Brass commented.

"Hey Naruto, is this the first time you've been to the beach?" Erika asked.

"Ummm . . ." At that moment, a small, but sharp pain shot through Naruto's mind, images of different beaches with different skylines briefly appearing before his mind's eye before disappearing altogether. "I'm not really_ sure_."

Joso realized what was possibly happening to Naruto and did the only thing he could. "Hey Naruto, why don't you and Erika go get some shaved ice? I'll just be here and set up our spot," he said passing Naruto some cash as he pulled out his beach blanket and set up the umbrella in the sand.

"Oh. Sure thing dad," Naruto said as he took the cash and ran off down the beach.

"And now, to work on my tan," Joso said as he laid on his back and put on a pair of sunglasses.

"Hey Naruto. Why do people go to the beach _just _to lie in the sun?" Erika asked.

"No idea," he answered. "After the shaved, ice lets go play in the ocean."

"Okay Naruto," Erika said as she followed after him.

"I certainly hope Mr. Tenryo remembers to put on some sunscreen," Brass remarked.

"Oh come on, no one's _that _dumb," Metabee said.

* * *

After buying their shaved ice, Naruto and Erika swam in the ocean and splashed eachother while Brass watched from a safe distance away. At the same time, Metabee was climbing up the side of a large rock that peaked above the water's surface.

"Make way guys, I'm coming down," Metabee said from the top of the rock. Naruto and Erika looked up, trying to stifle their laughter at the sight of Metabee in a snorkel, goggles, and flippers that looked completely ridiculous on him.

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" they both laughed after trying to hold it in for a minute.

"Hey what's the big deal?" Metabee demanded.

"Sorry Metabee," Naruto said. "I just couldn't help myself."

"Oh yeah! Well I'll show you!" Metabee said as he leapt into the air. "BANZAIII!" he cried before he fell into the water on his belly. The next moment he suddenly burst out of the water and scurried back onto the rock, somehow spewing water out of the snorkel. "Hey what's the big idea! That was _salt_ water!"

"Of _course _its salt water," Naruto said. "We _are _at the _ocean_."

"Are you insane?" Metabee demanded. "I'll rust!"

"You won't rust _that _fast," Erika corrected.

"Whatever," Metabee groaned as he leapt off the rock and left. "I'm going for a walk. _Don't _wait up."

"Wait for _me _Metabee," Brass said as she got up and followed after the yellow-clad medabot.

"Shouldn't I go after him?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry," Erika said putting a hand on his shoulder. "He just needs to cool off for a while. Plus Brass is with him. What's the _worst _that could happen?"

"Every great adventurer's famous_ last _words," Naruto said to himself. The next moment Erika splashed him, and they resumed their water fight.

* * *

"Grrrr- Can't believe- Water- Salt- Oh ho ho-" Metabee grumbled to himself with his arms and legs crossed indignantly.

"Metabee, you shouldn't be so hard on Naruto," Brass said as she sat down beside Metabee, holding her umbrella over the both of them. "In retrospect, you _should've _known that the ocean would have saltwater."

Metabee sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just, I never thought I'd actually get _along _with my medafighter. I always thought he'd order me around like a _dog_ just because he's my medafighter, but he sees me as an _equal_."

"So you're saying he's exceeded your expectations?" Brass asked.

Metabee sighed, then nodded his head. Just as Brass rested her head on Metabee's shoulder however, someone very obnoxious started to ignore Metabee.

"Well looky here. It's a little piece-of-junk medabot out with his widdle girlf_wiend_," a kid with tanned skin cooed as he poked Metabee in the side of the head with a stick.

"He sure looks_ old_ boss," a skinny tanned kid wearing a sun hat said as he started poking Metabee with another stick.

"What's the matter? Afraid of the _wawa_?" a fat tanned kid asked as he began poking Metabee with a _third _stick.

"Hey leave our medabots alone!" Naruto demanded as he and Erika came up over the dunes.

"Mr. Naruto. Ms. Erika," Brass called.

"Hey what's the problem blondie?" the tan kid asked. "We're just having a little _fun_," he said as he poked Metabee in the head again, only for Naruto to snatch it from his hand and break it over his knee.

"Hey what's the big idea?" the fat tanned kid demanded as he jumped up at Naruto, only for Erika to club him over the head with a piece of driftwood.

"If you wanna mess with someone, you mess with _me _first," Naruto demanded as he jabbed the tanned kid in the chest.

"Hey no one but _locals _are allowed to challenge our boss to a robattle!" the skinny kid with the hat said trying to intimidate Naruto with his height.

"Oh _I _understand what you're getting at," Metabee said as he helped Brass up. "You're just _scared _of what we're going to do to you in a _real _fight."

"What? You're challenging me to a _robattle_?" the tanned kid asked.

"You _know _I am!" Naruto and Metabee said simultaneously.

"Then it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said as he jumped out from behind one of the dunes, now clad in black swimtrunks, sunglasses, and a pretty good tan. "I, Mr. Referee, shall act as referee. The rules are simple. The first medabot to make the other cease function wins. The loser must then submit one medapart to the winner, for keeps. Medafighters ready? Meda bots, ROBATTLE!"

"Transfer, Sharken," the tan boy said as he pressed the transfer button on his medawatch. In a flash of light, a dark blue and grey shark-type medabot appeared before jumping into the water.

"Transfer medapart: Bombarder," Naruto said as he hit the transfer button on his medawatch. In a flash of light, metabee's Revolver was replaced with the Bombarder he'd won a while back from the Punk Rockers.

"Why the change?" as he raised his new arm to the water.

"Thought I'd try something new," Naruto said. "Now listen to me very carefully. Keep your back to me and go out into the water up to your waist."

"What? I'll rust!" Metabee shouted with his eye twitching.

"Metabee just go with me on this okay?" Naruto asked.

"Fine then. I hope you've got a plan," Metabee said as he slowly waded out into the water until it was up to his waist.

"Hah! You losers just stepped into _Sharken's _territory," the tanned boy said. "Sharken! Attack!"

A distance away in the water, Sharken barreled right towards Metabee. As he was about to attack, his dorsal fin rose above the water.

"Now Metabee! Jump!" Naruto ordered.

Metabee jumped into the air just as Sharken broke through the crest of the water and went right under him, sliding directly into the sand on the beach.

"Now Metabee! Fire your Bombarder!" Naruto shouted.

"Nooooo! Sharken!" the three tan boys cried out as Sharken was blasted by the close-proximity missiles, sending a column of sand into the air . The next moment after the column of smoke receded, Sharken's [MEDAL] medal ejected into the sand.

"Function ceased!" Mr. Referee declared. "The winner is, Metabee!"

"Great job Metabee!" Naruto said as he ran into the water and took his hand.

"Thanks Naruto. That was a brilliant strategy," Metabee said shaking his hand.

"They look so happy right now," Brass commented.

"Well I think it may be because they got to show those three who's boss," Erika said as she looked over at the three boys, crying over their defeat.

"Just you wait!" the fat kid said as he carried the Sharken away. "The sea monster will get you yet!"

"Sea monster?" Erika asked.

"Yeah! And he likes eating little shrimps like _you_!" the skinny kid said.

"Funny, 'cause from what _I _can remember, _you _lost to _me _in our robattle," Naruto said smugly.

"Grrrr! You just got lucky!" the tan kid shouted as he left.

"Man, what a sore loser," Metabee grumbled.

* * *

A half hour or so later, Naruto and Metabee decided to separate for a while, the latter staying with Erika and Brass while the prior took a walk down the beach.

He eventually came to a large rocky area, with outcroppings extending over the ocean, causing the waves to break as they crashed onto the rocks. He felt something… _familiar_, about the ocean waves. Like he had been born there. Of course as far as he knew that wasn't the case.

As he climbed one of the crags, he saw a silgouette moving _over _the water. He put a hand over his eyes and saw that it was actually the Clam-Type medabot, Octoclam.

As he watched it, he suddenly felt a presence off to his left.

Sitting atop a large rock overlooking the sea was a bald man, a blue jacket on his back, a white headband around his head, and a shamisen strapped to his back. As he played, the waves crashed into the shore by rhythm, and the Octoclam rose and fell as the waves did.

As Naruto walked forward, the old man stopped playing, and the waves seemed to calm around him. "Have you come to watch the waves alongside an old man."

At first Naruto didn't answer, but after a minute he climbed up the rock and sat down next to the old man. "I thought I'd take a walk. See what I could find."

"Hmmmm," the old man said to himself as he began to play another tune. This one a little soothing, almost like a lullaby. At the same time the ebb and flow began to follow the rhythm. "It seems as though you are already _familiar_ with the sea."

"But this is only my first time," Naruto admitted.

"One's link to the sea is not limited by age," the old man said as he continued to play, the sea moving as hit instrument did. "Whether it is by whole generations, or even lifetimes, your connection to the ocean can never waver."

Naruto watched Octoclam drag a huge net full of fish onto the shore. "I think you may be right. I haven't been to the beach before today, but I _feel _like I've been to the beach before."

The old man slung the shamisen over his shoulder and walked over to the net of fish. "Would you like some fish? They taste very good cooked over a beachwood fire."

"Sure thing," Naruto said as he followed the old man to help collect some drift wood.

A few minutes later the fish had been skewered and were over a burning fire. As Naruto's stomach growled in anticipation, the old man spoke up.

"Tell me boy. Would you like me to teach you how to robattle at sea?" he asked.

"Huh? Why the sudden offer?" Naruto asked.

"Because when it comes to fighting on the sea, you won't always have the option to fight at the shoreline," the old man said. "I saw your battle from my rock, and if that boy hadn't been so impulsive, you could've just as easily lost."

Naruto thought about that for a moment as he ate. "I suppose you're right about that. If I'm on a boat or something and I get challenged, I'll need to fight in the water."

"If you wish to learn, then I will be waiting by the end of the rocks," the old man said as he took one of the fish before walking off.

"Wait. What about the fish?" Naruto asked. "There are still a few left."

"I'm sure your girlfriend would want one," the old man said.

Naruto's face reddened in defense. "S- She's not my girlfriend."

"Ah to be young and naieve," the old man said as he and Octoclam walked off.

A half hour later.

"Hey Naruto. What's up?" Metabee asked as Naruto ran towards him.

"I met an old man by some rocks who might be able to help us with our water-fielded robattling," Naruto answered. "If you want, we could go there and learn. Improve our robattling skills."

"You had me at _improve_," Metabee said. "But wait, shouldn't you ask your dad first?"

"You're right. I guess I should," Naruto said. "I'll be right back."

Naruto ran down the length of the beach to where they started, his dad sprawled out across the beach towel.

"Hey dad I-" Naruto said as he came up to him, but caught the smell of something burning. "You're looking a little red. Did you remember to put on sunscreen?"

"Oh man! I _thought _I was forgetting something!" Joso cried as he dug everything out of his bag in an attempt to find sunscreen.

"Anyway dad, I was wondering if maybe I could go out to the rocks," Naruto said. "Learn to become a better medafighter."

"But aren't you already the best medafighter already?" he asked.

"No. I still have a lot to learn," Naruto said. "Can I go?"

"Only if you promise you won't get hurt," he answered.

"Thanks dad!" Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around his dad and gave him a hug.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" he suddenly cried. "Watch the sunburn! Watch the sunburn!"

"Oops," Naruto said as he recoiled. "Sorry dad."

"Its, ugh, nothing," he said waving his hand. "Just make sure you're back before dark."

"Okay dad, bye!" Naruto said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the bag and ran off.

A few minutes later Naruto returned to Metabee giving the thumbs up. "We're good to go Metabee! Let's get learning!"

* * *

At the same time at the beach cafe, Erika and Brass sat across from eachother at one of the tables, the prior a little bit upset about recent developments.

"I can't believe that blonde-haired, blue-eyed twerp just up and left on me," Erika grumbled to herself as she tore into some of her food.

"Ms. Erika, surely you aren't _that _angry at Naruto," Brass said trying to calm her down.

Erika groaned as she drank some water. "I guess you're right. But today was supposed to be our day together. I guess I'm just a little bit upset about that is all."

"Oh, so Naruto's your _boyfriend _now is he?" Brass chuckled.

"Wha- No! He's just my friend," Erika huffed, trying to hide the blush.

_I need to think of a way to cheer her up_, Brass thought to herself. "I remember! That boy said something about a sea monster. Wouldn't that make for a good scoop?"

"You're right!" Erika said, filled with new energy. "Good thing I brought my camera with me. That'll be a good scoop. Excuse me maam," she said to the woman at the counter, "can you tell me how much you know about the sea monster?"

At that moment the woman behind the counter suddenly panicked. "So busy, so busy. I need to start preparing dinner."

"She didn't seem willing to talk all that much," Brass commented as the woman behind the counter continued to shop fervishly.

"Well I won't let this stop me!" Erika said as she stood up from her seat. "I'll find that sea monster no matter what!"

* * *

Back at the rocks on the far end of the beach. The old man and his Octoclam sat beside eachother on a large rock outcropping, the waves crashing against the shore.

"I see you have accepted my offer," the old man said.

"Yes. We are here to learn," Naruto said as he got onto his knees and bowed, then pulled Metabee down too in a sign of respect.

"In that case, hold out your medawatch," the old man said as he brought out his own medawatch. As Naruto raised his, the old man pressed a button, and a red beam of light connected with his medawatch.

"What are these?" Naruto asked as he looked at the new option of his medawatch.

"They are spare leg parts for my Octoclam," the old man explained, gesturing to his own medabot. "While they may be _old_, they are not obsolete."

Metabee and Naruto looked to eachother, and then back to the old man. "Thank you."

"Now then, follow Octoclam and I back to where you fought," the old man said as Octoclam followed. "Our training will begin there."

The two of them were a bit confused, but followed anyway.

A while later, the four of them were back where Naruto and Metabee fought, the waves rolling onto the shore and having had erased any damage from the fight. Metabee had been instructed to equip the Octoleg Parts and await further instruction.

"Now. We shall begin our lesson," the old man instructed as he plucked at the strings on his shamisen. "Metabee, follow my Octoclam out into the water. Naruto, go out into the water up to your ankles and try to synchronize yourself with Metabee."

"We understand," Naruto and Metabee said in unison. Metabee followed Octoclam out into the ocean until they disappeared from view. At the same time Naruto stepped out into the water up to his ankles. As he looked out to the water, he began to clear his mind, and link his own to Metabee's. A few minutes later he felt something on his skin.

_I can feel the seawater all around me, _Naruto thought to himself. As he willed himself to rise, Metabee and Octoclam did as well.

"Now, let yourself flow into the current," the old man instructed as he plucked at his shamisen eight times in rapid succession. The next moment the tide began to carry them out.

"Wahhh!" Metabee cried as he felt himself leaning backwards.

Naruto felt himself lean backwards as well, but felt himself synch with Metabee. The next moment he leaned forward, and Metabee had righted himself.

"Woah! How'd we do that?" Metabee asked.

"I think it's the power of our bond," Naruto said as he felt the ocean waves roll under Metabee's legs. _Although I'm not really sure about that _myself_._

"Good," the old man said as his shamisen strokes became slower and more placid. "Now Metabee, try to move around over the water. Naruto, keep Metabee balanced."

Metabee looked to Octoclam and nodded. As he began to follow Octoclam over the waves, Naruto felt the water pushing on him, but kept standing for Metabee's sake.

"Remember," the old man said as he strummed his instrument. "Medabot and Medafighter must lean against one other. There are at times that one must be dominant over the _other_, and that the _other _must be dominant over the one. But always remember that there will always be times when you must lean against each other the same amount."

Metabee continued to slide over the water's surface, gradually changing speed and direction either at the same time or alternatively. With each movement, Naruto would wither will himself to strengthen Metabee's movement, restrict it, or remain standing.

Suddenly a large wave rose over Metabee and Octoclam. As the old man was about to speak, Naruto suddenly went into action on his own. He quickly planted his left foot into the sand and slid his right out of place behind him. Instantly Metabee swerved to the right and rode the crest of the wave. As it was about to crash on top of him, Naruto moved his left foot behind him, steering Metabee out of the way just in time as the wave fell.

"Excellent," the old man said as Metabee and Octoclam returned to the shore. "Once you and Metabee train enough, you will not need a medium to become synched anymore."

"Thank you sir," Naruto said with a bow to the old man.

"Thank you for teaching me," Metabee said to Octoclam extending his hand.

"Well Naruto, Metabee, it seems that there is nothing left for me to teach you," the old man said.

"Wait, hold on!" Metabee said. "Naruto had to jerk himself around to keep me upright, but you didn't have to do a _thing _and your Octoclam didn't falter at all. How do _you _do it?"

"There are things that can be _taught_," the old man said as he strummed his instrument, "but there are are also things that can only be _learned. _You and Naruto must learn to _read _each other if you want to work together."

Naruto and Metabee didn't completely understand what the old man meant, but nonetheless understood the _message_ he was trying instill in them.

"Alright then. Metabee and I will learn to move forward on our own," Naruto said with a bow.

"See you later Octoclam!" Metabee said with a bow before leaving.

* * *

A while later.

"Erika!" Naruto called out as he ran down the beach.

"Naruto!" Erika called as she ran over to Naruto. However as soon as she got within arms length of him she hit him over the head. "_That's _for leaving me behind all day!"

"Nice to see you too," Naruto groaned as he got up. "So what have _you _been up to all day?"

"Oh me?" Erika asked, confused by the fact that Naruto actually _cared_ after ditching her. "Well, um. I've been looking into this _sea monster _business."

"So what do you have on the sea monster?" Naruto felt prudent to ask.

"So far I have three descriptions for it," Erika said as she pulled out her note pad. "From what the witnesses say, it's either, sea goblin, a sea snake, or a dinosaur."

"I'm guessing they all had panicked looks on their faces?" Naruto and Metabee asked flatly.

"Wow. How'd you know?" Erika asked.

Naruto and Metabee pointed to the length of beach behind Erika and Brass. "That."

The two of them turned around and saw a throng of people running towards them, screaming stuff like "Sea Monster!", or "Eeeeek!", or "Aieeeee!", or other such things one would do in the face of a potential "sea monster".

"Wow! What a scoop!" Erika cheered as she pulled out her camera and grabbed Brass by the arm. "Come on! Let's go shoot that monster!"

"Ms. Erika!" Brass cried haplessly as she was dragged down the beach and out of sight in a trail of dust.

"Did she just say _shoot _the monster?" Metabee asked.

"For one, I think she meant with her camera," Naruto pointed out, "and two- Erika! Don't' go yet! It's too dangerous!"

* * *

Naruto and Metabee finally got to the other end of the beach, but by the time they got there, there wasn't any sign of Erika or Brass anywhere.

"Naruto, I don't see any sign of Erika or Brass _anywhere_," Metabee said as he scanned the beachfront.

"Oh man, I hope they didn't get gobbled up by the sea monster," Naruto said worriedly as he looked around. "I just hope that- Uh oh."

"Uh oh what?" Metabee asked.

"Look…" Naruto said as he picked Erika's camera up out of the sand. The lens had been crushed, and the film yanked right out of it. "This doesn't look like a good sign."

"Um, Naruto. I think I know why this isn't a good sign," Metabee said as he tapped Naruto's shoulder and pointed behind him.

"The sea monster's standing right _behind_ me isn't he?" Naruto asked. Metabee weakly nodded, still pointing over his shoulder.

Naruto turned around and immediately saw Erika in the left-clawed clutches of the sea monster, Brass tangled up in a mass of seaweed that apparently made up the lower part of the creature's body. The creature stood a good eight feet tall from its position in the water, its beady yellow eyes looking right at him.

The sea monster suddenly raised its right arm and brought it down in Naruto's direction. Just as he was about to get struck, he rolled out of the way in the nick of time.

"Naruto, you okay?" Metabee asked as he helped him up.

"I'm fine Metabee," Naruto said as he shook some sand off his body. "More importantly, that thing has both Erika and Brass in its clutches. How are we going to get to both of them before the sea monster hurts them?"

"Allow an old man to help," the old man said as he came around the bend with his Octoclam at the ready.

"Hey, it's the old man!" Naruto said happily. "Does that mean you're going to help us?"

"I will," the old man said. "The beach is where the sea and the land meet. It is a haven for both people _and _animals. I won't let this creature disturb that balance."

"Transport Medaparts," Naruto said as he pressed the button on his medawatch. "Octoleg, Transport! Bombarder, Transport!"

In a flash of light, Metabee's sea legs appeared alongside his heavy-missile weapon, and he jumped into the water alongside Octoclam.

"Octoclam! Bind that creature!" the old man said into his medawatch.

Octoclam responded by stopping by the monster's right flank and shooting a green net from its arms, trapping the upper right part of the monster.

"Metabee! Get Brass out of there!" Naruto said into his medawatch.

"Got it!" Metabee said as he rushed up to the sea monster and held his left hand out for Brass. "Grab on!"

Brass did so and pulled, but wouldn't budge. "I can't! I'm stuck!"

"Metabee! Cram your Bombarder into the sea monster's hide and get Brass loose!" Naruto ordered.

"Hey what about me!" Erika demanded.

"We'll get you next," Naruto said. "Just brace yourself for impact!"

Erika turned away the best she could and covered her ears as Metabee crammed the Bombarder into the sea monster's side. The next moment it bulged out, and Metabe and Brass were thrown clear of the explosion of seawood and driftwood.

"Ahhhh!" Erika cried as the monster's grip began to loosen as it started toppling over.

"Naruto. Rescue your girlfriend," the old man said. "_I'll _hold off the sea monster."

"Not my girlfriend!" Naruto corrected as he ran out into the water. However, unbeknownst to everyone else, his feet seemed to move _over _the water as he got under where Erika was and caught her in his arms the moment she fell.

"Naruto!" Erika cried.

"No time! Gotta move!" Naruto cried as the sea monster began to fell on top of them. As he and Erika got out of the way, the monster hit the beach, causing a miniature explosion of sand and saltwater.

When the explosion cleared, the _sea monster _was revealed to be nothing more than a totem of a Stingaray, Sharkkfen, and a Giggly Jelly medabots stacked on top of each other covered in moss, driftwood, and seaweed.

"What the heck?" Erika asked as she poked the Stingaray with a stick. "The sea monster was nothing more than a bunch of _medabots _stacked on top of each other."

"Wait a minute! I recognize that Sharkkan! That's the one from earlier," Naruto said as he examined the Sharkkan jumbled in the seaweed and driftwood. True to his word, it had missile dents on it from the previous match from where Metabee had blasted it.

"Which means that little _twerp _is somewhere nearby," Erika said as she looked around.

"Caught them," Octoclam said in an monotone voice as he dragged the three boys out from behind a rock with its nets.

"I'm going to take a guess that they aren't doing this for _kicks_," Naruto said as he leaned down at the three of them. "So why'd you do it huh?"

The tan boy huffed before responding. "I'm doing it because of all the stupid tourists polluting the beach. They leave trash all over the place, and then let it get taken away in the tide."

"I know you might've had good intentions," the old man said as he took a seat on a nearby rock, "but you shouldn't have gone as far as you did. Especially kidnapping my student's girlfriend."

"For the third time! She's not my girlfriend!" Naruto blurted out.

"Anyway, I can understand _why_ you did it, but why'd you take me hostage?" Erika asked. "AND WHY'D YOU THREE SMASH MY CAMERA LENSE AND YANK OUT ALL THE FILM!" she demanded as she hit them over the heads comically with a piece of driftwood.

"We uh, got a little carried away," the three of them said ashamedly rubbing the bumps on their heads.

"But in all honesty. You could've gone about this in a completely different way," Erika said. "You could've set up a cleaning committee or something like that."

The next moment the old man and Octoclam hit the three boys over the head for good measure. "Naruto, Metabee, don't worry about this beach. Octoclam and I will make sure these three don't cause any more trouble."

"Thank you Master," Naruto and Metabee said as they both bowed to the old man and Octoclam before leaving. "Come on Erika, Brass. Lets go."

"Um, okay then," Erika said. "But why'd you two just call that old man and his medabot _Master_?"

* * *

A few minutes later, back with Naruto's dad back where they started at the beginning of their day.

"Uh…" Naruto said.

"Mr. Tenryo…" Erika added.

"You're… um…" Brass added onto Erika's comment.

"Dude. You look like you've got a really bad case of _sunburn_," Metabee finished.

Laying on the beach blanket in front of them was Mr. Tenryo, sunburned to a not-so-golden-brown shade of bright red. "I smell... something burning..."

"I'll go call my mom," Naruto said as he walked toward the pier. "Metabee, help me find a pay phone."

"I'll make sure your dad doesn't get any more sun," Erika said as she moved the umbrella to get him out of the sun.

* * *

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Sharkan  
****Leg Part: Smacker**

**Tentaclam  
****Leg Part: Octoleg (given)**


	8. Haunting of the Gimme Ghost

It was a Saturday morning in front of the 24 Hour Hopmart. While the store clerk Henry was reading an article about the Phantom Renegade, Erika was regaling Naruto with the tales of a rumored spirit in their midst.

"The Gimme Ghost?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Yeah! The Gimme Ghost is a phantom that attacks people at night and takes their medals," Erika explained.

_Sound pretty lame to _me, Naruto thought to himself. "Oh right, like I'm supposed to believe a _ghost _comes out in the middle of the night and takes people's _medals_."

"Well if that's the case what _do _you believe in?" Erika asked.

"Life on other planets, UFOs, diamonds the size of my fist, and 14 story-tall toads with samurai swords that shoot combustible oil from their mouths," Naruto answered as he counted off his fingers.

"Okay... The _first _three I understand," Erika said, "but fourteen story _toads _with samurai swords that shoot combustible oil from their mouths?"

"I know what I said," Naruto rebuttled. _Although to be completely honest, I'm not sure where _that _came from._

"Why're you guys wasting your time with some _ghost_?" Henry asked as he waved his magazine in the air. "You should be talking about the Phantom Renegade. He's a genius! A mastermind! And plus, he's _real_! He isn't just some rumor!"

"Henry. The guy's a criminal. Plain and simple," Naruto said flatly.

At that moment Henry paled as he slumped over into a corner and fell into obscurity. At the same time, a somewhat-familiar pink limousine pulled up to the street. A moment later both Karin and Koji stepped out.

"Oh hi Karin, what're you doing here?" he asked in greeting. "Koji," he muttered when he saw the snob come out as well.

"Naruto," Koji muttered back.

"It's so good to be seeing the two of you get along so well," Karin said, a smile on her face as a result of her obliviousness.

_If that's what you see, you need to get your eyes checked, _Erika thought to herself. "Not that I'm not glad to see you two, but why are you here?" Erika asked.

"Koji lost Sumilidon's medal to the Gimme Ghost," Karin replied.

"Karin! You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Koji cried.

"But it's true," Karin said, completely oblivious to Koji's apparent distress. "Remember, you ran away screaming when the Gimme Ghost came out. You haven't screamed so much since you found out your designer watch was a fake."

"Hahahahaha! Man, I never pegged you as the kind to get scared of _ghosts_," Naruto said between laughs. "Ahahahahaha!"

"Rrrrrr! Why you little!" Koji cried as he lunged at Naruto's throat.

At the same time on the roof, Metabee and Brass were watching the miniature-drama unfold from the roof. Each had a soda in their hand, turned to each other, and then sighed.

"Well Brass. It looks like we've got another _mystery_ on our hands," Metabee said.

"Hehe, oh Metabee, you took that line from that mystery show with the meddling kids and the talking dog," she said giggling.

"So?" Metabee asked indignantly as he crossed his arms.

* * *

A few hours later, Naruto, Erika, Karin, Koji, Metabee, Brass, Neutranurse, and surprisingly Henry, were all walking through the old residential district. The sun had just begun to set, bathing everything in a red glow that would eventually turn purple, and then the darkness of night would cover the land.

"So the Gimme Ghost comes out at night then?" Karin asked.

"Yeah. He's been active for a couple weeks now," Erika commented. "I'm not usually one to believe in ghosts, but I know one thing. This is the kind of thing that makes news history."

"When I see that Gimme Ghost, I'll give him a meda-boppin'," Metabee said confidently.

At the same time, Naruto and Henry walked at the rear of the group. Both of them were wary enough to bring flashlights.

"Henry, I appreciate you coming to watch us and all," Naruto said, "but don't blame me if you get fired tomorrow morning."

"Relax. I don't run the night shifts," Henry replied. "Besides, you can just think of me as a volunteer babysitter."

"Okay," Naruto said. "But if Koji starts screaming like a little girl, you better get out of the way," he added with a smirk.

"Hey I _heard _that!" Koji cried from the front.

"Ms. Erika. I have the camera set to the wide-angle night-flash," Brass said.

"Great work Brass. This'll be front page news by tomorrow morning," Erika said as she took the aforementioned camera.

As the eight of them headed for the forest, an ominous wind blew through the air. The hair on the back of Naruto's neck stood on end as the strangest memory cracked through his brain. This one was of a massive mansion that was actually a giant chameleon in disguise, and that it had tried to eat him, a bug freak, a boy with dog-based identity dysfunction, and a pale-eyed girl. It confused the heck out of him, since he _knows _he doesn't know anyone like that. To him it seemed the memory itself was just a dream of some sort.

"Hey Naruto! Are you gonna quit daydreaming and come along or what?" Erika asked.

"Coming," Naruto said as he ran to catch up to them. _Man, what's with all these weird dreams?_

"You know Neutranurse, you didn't have to come all this way with us," Karin spoke to her medabot.

"But when the Gimme Ghost shows up, you'll need me to robtattle. Am I correct?" Neutranurse asked.

"Right. Well in that case, thank you for coming Neutranurse," Karin replied with a smile.

* * *

Night had fully set around them, the forest's corners darkening by the second. As they ventured deeper and deeper into the forest, fear slowly creeping into their hearts, the final "straw" that "broke the camel's back" fell into place.

"_**Gimme your medal. Gimme your medal. Gimme your medaaaaaaaal!" **_a disembodied voice bellowed out. At the same time, a pair of hinotama appeared from the forests depths, almost like a pair of ethereal eyes. At that same time, the temperature around them began to drop, and fear had taken hold of their hearts as the darkness began to inhibit their abilities to think clearly.

"Ahhhhhh!" Koji cried as he ran off in a random direction.

"The Gimme Ghost! Where is he? Where is he?" Erika cried as she ran in circles, taking the equivalence to candid shots as she ran into the forest.

"Eeeeeeeek!" Karin cried as she followed Erika. "I think something just touched me!"

"Come out and fight me!" Metabee roared as he ran off into the forest in pursuit of the enigma.

"Hold it guys! We have to stay together!" Naruto cried as he looked around frantically, however everyone had already scattered, Henry included. In a matter of moments, the eight gathered individuals had become scattered, lost in their own mix of fear, panic, fascination, courage, or just plain lack of sense of direction.

"Oh man! What do I do?" Naruto thought to himself as he found himself running into the forest, trying to find the others. A moment later, he tripped over something. When he turned his head, it was an unconscious Koji, knocked flat out by sheer panic. "Koji! You okay?"

"Ah hahahahahaha!" a mysterious voice suddenly echoed into the air. Naruto looked up and saw the silhouette of a man in a top hat, suit, cape, and mask with black eye holes and a red-painted smile.

"You're the…"

"My name is Phantom Renegade," he replied, probably not hearing what Naruto had said. "I search the world over for rare medals, and then I _steal_ them."

"…Phantom Renegade," Naruto finished dumbly in awe.

"Go home," the Phantom Renegade suddenly demanded. "And remember, Naruto. Someday, I will come for _your _medal too."

The next moment a pair of synthetic, "EEEEEEEEEEE"s met his ears, causing Naruto to jerk around in that direction. When he looked back up, the Phantom Renegade had disappeared, almost as though his escape had been _planned_.

"Great, now Koji's nothing but dead weight," Naruto said to himself as he grabbed Koji's ankles and started dragging him through the forest. _I don't like the sound of those screams._

Naruto burst through the foliage (Koji looking like he'd been chewed up by a cat, spit up, and then used as a door mat), and was greeted with the sight of Brass and Neutranurse sitting back-to-back. He quickly tapped one of their shoulders, the both of them falling to the sides, their medal chambers empty.

"Crap! The Gimme Ghost must've taken their medals while everyone was panicked," Naruto cursed to himself as he looked the two bodies over. "I can't carry all _three_ of them, so I'll just have to remember where they are and come back for them later."

When he looked up from where he was kneeling down, he saw an old shack with a few lights on.

_A house! Maybe I can get some help! _Naruto thought to himself as he ran up to it.

* * *

At the same time inside the old shack, Erika and Karin sat tied back-to-back with gags over their mouths. Occupying the room as well were four individuals in all-rubber outfits with zippers down the front, and two yellow antennae-like decorations on the sides of their heads, all wearing sunglasses in different shapes.

But more importantly, a large pile of medals were in the middle of the room. There were dozens, if not _hundreds _of them.

"Look at all these medals!" a rubber-wearing baby with square-shaped glasses exclaimed as he ran his hands through the golden pile.

"We just made up the story of the Gimme Ghost to keep people away from our forest hideout," a rubber-wearing lady with visor-like glasses exclaimed, "but _now _people are showing up to _see _the ghost, we have more medals then we know what to do with."

"What do we do now?" a rubber-wearing largely-muscled individual with round-lensed sunglasses asked.

"Like any other villains _would _do," a rubber-wearing guy with slicked hair wearing oval-lensed glasses said. "Run our hands through them and _laugh _maniacally!"

At that moment, the four weirdos began to laugh as they ran their hands through the pile of medals.

On the other end of the room, Erika and Karin tried desperately to look for _their_ medals in the pile, but couldn't find them. A moment later they spotted a cerulean-colored eye peeking in through a crack in the wall. The person on the other side motioned for them to stay quiet before disappearing into the night.

_Naruto! _they both thought to themselves.

_Naruto you dope! Don't be the hero, just run and get help, _Erika thought.

_I hope he doesn't do anything too dangerous, _Karin thought. _I wouldn't want anything to happen to him._

The next moment a voice shouted from the other side of the walls, _**"You there in the wooden shack! This is the police! We have the building surrounded! Exit the building with your hands where we can see them!"**_

"Ack! It's the cops!" the baby cried.

"How'd they find us?" the slick-haired one demanded.

"I don't know, but we'd better do as they say," the large-muscled one admitted in defeat.

"Now hold it! I only heard _one _voice out there," the red-head said, causing Erika and Karin to pale. "For all we know someone may be _bluffing _us!"

"_**Release the two captives you have in there first, or we **_**will **_**fire!" **_the voice shouted.

"He's bluffing," the red-haired woman said.

The next moment several rounds cut through the door, making it look like swiss cheese. The next moment the rubber-wearing freaks to begin panicking.

"They're firing at us!" the baby cried.

A moment later the firing ceased.

"They've stopped firing! Let's get them!" the slick-haired guy said as he and his cronies busted down the front door.

As soon as their captors had fled, the two of them sighed, but then realized they were still bound and gagged. A moment later however, a masked individual leapt down from the shadows.

* * *

The four rubber-wearing individuals ran out the door, but were instantly greeted with a flashlight to the eyes.

"Hey you there! Who are you?" the slick-haired one demanded as he shielded his eyes.

"I should be asking _you _that," the owner of the voice replied as he lowered his flashlight, revealing nothing more than a youth. "Full-body rubber outfits, a shack in the middle of the woods, and more importantly a pile of stolen medals. Looks pretty suspicious to me. So_ I'll_ ask this time, who the heck are _you_?"

"Hah! We're the illustrious Rubber Robo Gang!" the slick-haired one declared as he crossed his arms. "An evil organization bent on _taking over _the world!"

"What is this, a Saturday morning cartoon?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Take a tone with us will ya! Well you'll think twice after we get through with you!" he declared as he and the others scattered. "Get him!"

Naruto looked around as three of the four rubber-wearing freaks armed themselves with fishing poles. A few moments later, a spooky laughing sound began to echo through the forest. He looked up and suddenly saw a glowing light fly through the sky. A moment later, a vinegar-soaked sponge swung down and hit his left cheek.

"Yuck! What the-" Naruto cried as he looked around, swatting the sponge away from his face.

The next moment a padded glove on the end of another fishing pole and smacked him in the butt.

"Hey what's the big idea!" Naruto demanded, completely losing it. "I can _see_ all four of you! And I _know _that wailing is a recording!" he said pointing at the slick-haired guy's boom box he was holding in his arms.

"So? What're you going to _do _about it?" he asked.

"This!" Naruto said as he brought his hand to his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. "WHEEET!" The next moment a pair of glowing green eyes shone in the forest before Metabee leapt out at them.

"KEKEKEKEKEKE! KAAAH!" he screamed as he smashed all the rubber-wearing freak's gear. "You called?" Metabee asked as he stopped beside Naruto.

A moment later, both Erika and Karin ran out of the old shack. "Naruto! Metabee!"

"That masked man let us free," Karin said, pointing to the roof.

Everyone's eyes followed Karin's finger to the roof. Standing before the full moon in all his glory was the Phantom Renegade, a satchel on his back. "Thanks for the medals," the Phantom Renegade said as he flipped a medal like a coin before catching it in his hand. "It's been a blast."

"Oh no, not _you_ again!" the rubber-wearing freaks cried.

The next moment the Phantom Renegade leapt into the air, a massive explosion illuminating the forest as he covered his escape.

"Stop, thief!" the Rubber Robos cried, _after _the explosion had subsided.

"Thief? _You're _the thieves!" Naruto and Metabee both shouted.

"Well we're not leaving without a medal! Let's robattle," the slick-haired rubber-wearer cried. "Mistyghost!"

At that moment a spotlight suddenly shone from the depths of an old well. A moment later a cryptically-dressed figure rose out.

"I declare this match a submission robattle…" he moaned with closed eyes. "The first medabot to make the other's function cease wins… Medabots… Robattle!"

"That was so lame," Erika commented. Karin was simply speechless, while Naruto smacked his forehead.

At that moment, a white clothed cream-armored ghost-like medabot emerged from the forest.

"Let's get this ghost!" Metabee said as he raised his laser cannon, only for Mistyghost to suddenly slink away into the forest.

"After him!" Naruto ordered as he followed Metabee into the forest. A minute into the chase, Naruto and Metabee found themselves in a clearing. To their right, Mistyghost came out of the bushes. Metabee raised his arm, but suddenly, _another _Mistyghost appeared from behind their rear flank.

"What's going on here! They're everywhere!" Metabee stated as he kept readjusting his aim to compensate.

"Hahahahaha! I guess you haven't heard have you!" the slick-haired rubber-wearer cackled. "Mistyghost has the power to _multiply_! Wahahahahahaha!"

"What the- Mistyghost doesn't have that power!" Erika stated.

"Well I think he missed that meeting!" Metabee said as he kept aiming at Mistyghost.

"_Metabee. This has to be another trick," _he whispered into Metabee's ear. _"Just follow along while I try to figure this out."_

Metabee nodded his head.

"Well alrighty then!" Naruto said, hoping these rubber-wearing freaks would buy into his bluff. "If Mistyghost is so into _multiplying_, when we'll just have to do some _subtracting_!"

"Uh, I've got a better idea," Metabee bluffed. "I'll shoot them 'til there's _none left_!" he said as he fired at all the Mistyghost rapidly, his shots flying uselessly through them.

"Oh my! It's like he's fighting a ghost," Karin. After she said that statement, Erika smacked her forehead.

While Metabee continued to shoot at the Mistyghosts, Naruto's mind was abuzz as he tried to figure out what was going on. Suddenly the two of them found themselves edged to the edge of a ravine. As the Mistyghosts began to approach them, a spotlight from above landed on one of the Mistyghost, causing it to disappear.

"Hey! Who turned on the lights?" the rubber-wearing lady asked.

"Yeah! He's screwing with our projectors!" the rubber-wearing baby added.

"You clods! You were supposed to stay hidden!" the slick-haired guy cried.

"So that's it! Holographic projectors," Naruto said as he spun his flashlight in his hand before flashing it at one of the Mistyghost, causing it to vanish instantly.

"Keep it up Naruto!" Erika and Karin cried.

Naruto began waving his flashlights at the Mistyghost replicas along with the mysterious spotlight from the trees. A few seconds later, Naruto's flashlight and the spotlight from above landed on the last Mistyghost, this one not disappearing like the others.

"There Metabee! That's the original!" Naruto said as he kept his flashlight trained on the ghost-like medabot.

"This ghost is _toast_!" Metabee roared as he charged at the exposed Mistyghost. "Booya!" he shouted as he struck him in the face with a servo-enhanced punch. A moment later it fell onto the ground, it's Ghost medal ejecting with an inaudible clink.

"Function ceased! The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee declared.

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

"Arrrgh! We'll get you back for this!" Seaslug shouted as he, Gillgirl, Shrimplips, and Squidguts ran out of the forest.

"Way to go Naruto!" Erika cheered.

"Thanks Metabee," Karin added.

"It was nothin'," Naruto and Metabee said in unison. At the same time, Koji began to wake up from his "nap".

"Uugh… What happened?" he asked groggily as he looked around.

"Oh Koji, _there _you are," Karin said.

"I didn't know you were there," Erika said. "I think I stepped on your head. Sorry."

"Oh, so _that _explains the grass in my mouth. And the loss of my short-term memory," Koji to himself. "What am I doing here again?"

"Ah! Wait a minute! The medals! Where are the medals!" Naruto cried. As he and Metabee looked around, the Phantom Renegade watched from the shadows of the trees with interest.

"That was most _definitely _the power of a rare medal," he thought to himself as he watched Metabee. _For him to take down his opponent in a single punch is truly amazing. But for now, I'll just-_

The next moment a cracking sound was heard from beneath him. He looked to his side and paled behind his mask as the tree branch cracked under his own weight and the added weight of his medals. For a moment the cracking stopped, and as he sighed a sigh of relief, the branch gave out beneath him, sending him to the ground in a heap.

"There he is! The Phantom Renegade!" Koji cried.

"Ugh. Thanks for the medals," the Phantom Renegade said as he threw his satchel over his shoulder, only for a large tear to spill out all the stolen medals. "Argh. Oh, just forget it." He quickly discarded the bag and ran into the darkness, groaning at his aching back as he disappeared.

A few seconds later, Erika held her gut laughing. "Ah hahahahaha! Some master thief! He lost all his loot! Hahahahahaha!"

_I still don't get it… The Phantom Renegade, how did he know my name? _Naruto asked himself.

"Uuuuugh…" Henry moaned as he came out of the shrubbery behind them, braches in his hair and his uniform messed up. "Hey guys. You all okay?"

"You missed all the action," Naruto replied. "The Rubber Robo Gang and the Phantom Renegade already ran off."

"More importantly though, where the heck have _you _been?" Erika demanded.

"I uh, got lost," he answered. "I mean it isn't like I fell out of a tree or anything. Hahaha- Ugh-" the next moment he cringed, like he had a back injury or something.

"Hmmmm. You're acting strangely," Erika said as she narrowed her eyes. "You're hiding something aren't you!"

"Ah! No I'm not!" Henry called as he ran off. "You're just imagining things!"

"Come back here! I want _answers_!" Erika cried as she ran off after him.

"Pheh. He was probably hiding in the bushes or something," Koji scoffed.

"At least _he _didn't pass out after screaming like a little girl," Metabee commented.

"What was that?" Koji demanded.

Naruto sighed as he muttered to himself, "Erika sure is a handful."

He looked up at the moon, more questions then answers in his mind as he tightened his grip on his flashlight, escorting the others out of the forest.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto, Erika, Koji, Karin, Metabee, and Brass had all gathered in front of the 24 Hour Hopmart, a special edition of the Riverview Times posted on the window.

"Special Edition. What do you guys think?" Erika asked. On the special edition was an article about the _real _Gimme Ghost, the rubber-wearing freaks, and how Naruto had "kept cool under pressure, and rescued not only this reporter (Erika) and an innocent bystander (Karin) in the face of adversity, but also got everyone's medals back from the Phantom Renegade."

"Think it needs more of _me_," Metabee said smugly, noticing the picture was of Naruto _and _him.

"Oh Metabee, you _are _a _trip_," Naruto replied as he patted Metabee on the back aggressively, but instantly regretted it as his hand throbbed from the blunt-force contact.

"I wonder just who those rubber-wearing freaks were," Koji said. "And come to think of it, who is the Phantom Renegade?"

"We may never know," Naruto said. At the same time, his own mind had been trying to figure out how the Phantom Renegade could've known his name. After a minute he realized that him becoming well-known may've had something to do with it, and so he cast the thought aside. For now anyway.

At the same time down the street, Henry swept in front of the store unsuspectingly, smirking on the inside beneath his innocent facade.

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Mistyghost  
Head Part – Void**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	9. Teaching an Old Cyandog New Tricks

It was another afternoon after school at Riverview Elementary. After the bells had rang, Naruto, Erika, Metabee, and Sam had left the premises, however, a majority of the student population had stayed for the following robattles. Quickly, the Screws Gang worked their way to the top of the unofficial tournament.

"Attack mode, Peppercat!"

**KRAKROOM!f**

"I won!"

"Attack mode, Totalizer!"

**BZAAAT!**

"I won!"

"Attack mode, Cyandog!"

**BOOF! BIFF! CLANG!**

"Oh nooo. I lost."

"BOOOOOOOO!"

"Fine. _I'll _finish it. Rrrrrr."

**KRAKROOM!**

"Yeaaaaaah!"

Well, to be frank, Sam with her Peppercat and Sloan with his Totalizfer quickly worked their their way to the top of the unofficial tournament. Spyke and Cyandog however… stunk on ice.

* * *

A half hour later at the 24 Hour Hopmart.

"Spyke. Sloan and I wish to show you something," Sam said as Sloan took out a scroll. On it were various robattle statistics. "Look at this scorecard. Twenty two wins, eleven losses. That means we're losing one _third_ of all our robattles," she said narrowing hefr eyes at him.

"Hey, two out of three? That isn't so bad," Spyke said hopefully.f

"Normally that would be good…" Sam said calmly, then turned angry. "But YOU are losing EVERY ROBTATTLE! You're making us look bad!" she shouted, rounding on him.

"S-So what're you saying?" Spyke said, slightly paling at the look Sam was giving him.

"Just this," Sam said as she leered at him. "YOU'RE FIRED!" she roared, sending the spiky-haired boy off his feet and onto his butt.

"B-But Boss…" Spyke whined.

"If you _really _want to discuss this further, we can do so with a robattle," Sam said holding her medawatch up, the face shining like it were recently polished. "Think you got the guts?"

"N-No… I'm good," Spyke sighed.

"I'll put it to you as nicely as I can Spyke," Sam said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Until you become a better robattler, you will not be welcome in the Screws Gang. Is that understood?"

Spyke could only whimper in sadness as Sam and Sloan walked away, leaving him behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, at one of Riverview's parks, Naruto, Metabee, Erika, and Brass were off in pairs doing their own things. While Naruto and Metabee were upside down arm wrestling using a board they had set up, Erika and Brass just watched.

"Brass… What are those two doing?" Erika asked.

"Submit Metabee! You won't stop me!" Naruto grunted.

"Give in Naruto! Man can never conquer machine!" Metabee shouted as he strained to put his opponent down.

"Oh yeah? Well what about John Henry, the Steel Driving Man in the 1840s?" Naruto rebuttled.

"That was a folk tale!" Metabee growled.

"Oh yeah? Well how do _you _know that?" Naruto hissed as he pushed against Metabee's arm once again.

"It must be a guy thing," Brass stated in a chipper manner.

The next moment Erika's emergency line started ringing.

"Hello?" she asked. "Ah, Riyo, good to see you. What do you have? Mhmm? Ahaa? Oh, I see?"

"What is it Ms. Erika?" Breass.

After hanging up the line, Erika turned to Naruto. "Naruto. Metabee. You two may want to see this!"

"What is it?" Naruto and Metabee asked from the monkeybars.

"One of my informants called. There's been a disturbance in the force," Erika said, using the semi-familiar Star Wars catch phrase.

"Excuse me?" Naruto and Metabee asked with tilted heads.

"Just come with me," she said as she and Brass yanked him and Metabee out from the monkey bars and down the street.

* * *

At the top of a hill on the edge of Riverview an hour or so later, Spyke and Cyandog stood beneath the shade of a tree, large packs on their backs as they hung their heads in shame. Cyandog had a green bag with yellow spirals on his back, while Cyandog was using his as a seat.

"I've disgraced myself, _and _my gang," Spyke sighed sadly. "Time to pack my bags and leave town for good. But where can I go Cyandog? Where does a twenty second century loser like me gonna fit in?"

"The circus. The traveling freak show," Cyandog answered.

"No Cyandog. Those places are full," Spyke answered.

"You're not finished yet Spyke," a voice said from behind him.

"Yeah. This old dog can still learn a few tricks," another voice said.

When the two of them turned around, they immediately recognized Naruto and Metabee, except now they were wearing white gi, their arms crossed with determined looks on their faces. Naruto himself had a white headband with a red rising sun on it, and for some reason, Naruto looked like he was _supposed _to be wearing a headband.

For what reason he thought that, he couldn't be sure.

"Spyke, Metabee and I are officially enrolling you in the Naruto and Metabee Chump to Champ Program," Naruto said as he grabbed Spyke's collar and started dragging him back into town.

"Yeah, so get moving," Metabee said as he started dragging Cyandog back to town as well.

* * *

A short trip later, Naruto, Metabee, Spyke, and Cyandog were at, you guessed it, Riverview's river.

"Okay Spyke. Metabee and I have assembled some training materials to help improve your robattling skills," Naruto said as he pointed to several implements clustered together behind him. "Get ready to sweat, spike-head," he continued narrowing his eyes.

Spyke could only pale, while Cyandog remained neutral.

"Now, it's time to set the mood," Metabee said as he pulled an old boombox from the pile and pressed play, the cassette inside playing _Eye of the Tiger, _from the1982 movie Rocky III_._

_If I wasn't so terrified of the look I was getting, this might actually be kind of fun, _Spyke thought to himself as he sat helplessly under his coach's threatening gaze.

_***INTRO***_

To start things off, Naruto and Metabee tossed a pair of steel drums filled with sand onto Spyke and Cyandog's backs. While Cyandog did pushups on the tips of his rifle barrels, Metabee ordering him to do a hundred, Naruto did the same, though Spyke was struggling to do just one, his arms wobbly at his sides.

_**Risin' up, back on the street  
Did my time, took my chances  
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet  
Just a man and his will to survive**_

After doing the one hundred pushups he was assigned to, Cyandog was running alongside Metabee with four tires tied to a rope trailing behind him, the river sparkling alongside them.

At the same time a good distance behind them, Spyke had yet to continue a single pushup.

_**So many times, it happens too fast  
You change your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  
You must fight just to keep them alive**_

Metabee was now holding up a punching bag on the end of a curved metal pipe, and Cyandog was wearing beat up-looking boxing gloves with Xs of scotch tape on them, showing the bag who's boss, the thwacking of the bag against the gloves making a rhythmic humm.

At the same time, Naruto just rubbed the bridge of his nose.

_**It's the, eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watchin' us with the eye of the tiger…**_

Down the other end of the river, Metabee had erected a rigging of ropes and gears, a bag filled with rocks on the end of a rope that Cyandog worked fervently to lift up.

With Naruto, he read a copy of **Ramen Dishes of the World Monthly (September Issue) **that he had found in the pile of training equipment he had salvaged while Spyke lay face down in the dirt.

_**Face to face, out in the heat  
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry  
They stack the odds still we take to the street  
For the kill with the skill to survive**_

Cyandog, now sporting flippers, a snorkel, and an inner tube, was swimming against the current, Metabee riding an inflatable chair attached to a rope tied to Cyandog's waist behind him, a stopwatch in his hand, a sunhat on his head, and sunglasses over his eyes.

Back with Naruto…

Same as before.

_**It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tiger…**_

Metabee and Cyandog were now running up the stairs on the side of the hill, Cyandog bringing his knees up to his chest until he reached the top. He then pumped his arms into the air triumphantly shouting,

"I did it master!"

As for Spyke. Need I say more?

_**The eye of the tiger…  
The eye of the tiger…  
The eye of the tiger…  
The eye of the tiger…**_

* * *

After the training montage had ended, Metabee and Cyandog laid on their backs, soaking up the sun as Naruto laid against the hillside, looking up at the clouds.

"Ahhhh. Working out feels good huh?" Metabee asked.

"Sure do master. Sure do," Cyandog responded.

"Well Cyandog. All in all, you did great. Now let's see the fruits of your labor," Metabee said as he got up.

"You got it master," Cyandog said as he got up, bowing his head reverently.

"Excellent…" Spyke moaned as he lifted himself up with the steel drum. "Now we can take Metabee and take all his medaparts."

"Oh good. You're still alive," Naruto said taking an eye off his magazine. "At least I didn't need to get that drum off your back."

Salty, who had been watching after sniffing out Naruto midway through the training montage, barked in agreement.

"Good boy Salty," Naruto cooed as he pet the dog's head.

"You ready?" Metabee asked as he threw his gi into the wind.

"I think I am master," Cyandog replied.

"Attaaaaack Cyandog!" Spyke ordered.

Cyandog quickly brandished his Sniper Rifle, his right foot pushing the dirt to the side as he began firing at Metabee.

Seconds into the gunfight, the ground at Metabee's feet was peppered with rounds, kicking up dirt, dust, and rocks everywhere.

"Fire! Let him have it!" Spyke cried.

As the gunfight, if it could even be called that, continued, Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose. The next moment there was a shot of pain through the back of his head, telling him to get himself and Salty over the crest of the hill.

The moment he tucked the dog under his arm and jumped, the hillside they were on was suddenly peppered with stray rounds.

"Metabee! Take him down! Salty almost got caught in the crossfire!" Naruto called out as he hugged the defenseless dog to his chest.

"Cyandog. You have to aim. Like _this_," Metabee said as he raised his Revolver and took aim, firing three rounds.

Two rounds struck Cyandog in the right shoulder and on the left side of his forehead, the third striking the steel drum beside Spyke, sending it flying into the air.

"Hey, he's- Guoooogh…" Spyke stated in amazement, but then moaned when the drum was suddenly kicked into the air and bounced off his head.

Thankfully, only Cyandog's drum was filled with sand, while Spyke's only had a fifth full.

* * *

A minute or so later, Naruto dumped a bucket of water from the stream onto Spyke's head, causing him to jerk awake.

"Wha- What just happened?" Spyke asked as he looked around.

"Cyandog's aim nearly hit Salty, so we had to cut the robattle short," Naruto stated.

"Well uh… That was certainly a barrel of fun. Huh master," Cyandog stated defeatedly as he sat at Spyke's side.

"You disappoint me Cyandog," Metabee stated.

"I disappoint myself master," Cyandog said defeatedly.

"In a robattle, you can't just fly off the hook like that. In a robattle, you have to use your head," Naruto said. "Forget about firepower. You need _mind_power."

"It's true," Spyke sniffed as he pet Salty. "I guess you can't teach an old Cyandog new tricks."

_Wasn't that statement disproven on Mythbusters? _Metabee thought to himself, remembering that one show on a marathon he'd watched on TV. The educational stuff was a bit of a turnoff at first, but the explosions really got him into it.

"But still, this is strange. Cyandog is an all around strong machine. Good balance and good aim accompanied with moderate dexterity," Naruto said with a hand on his chin. "What could be causing him to be malfunctioning like this. If his targeting system was damaged, then wouldn't a notice go off on Spyke's medawatch?"

The next moment Salty barked twice as he faced Cyandog's back.

"What is it boy?" Naruto asked as Salty started sniffing around the blue medabot.

The next moment Salty pressed the eject button on Cyandog's back, the flap on the medal chamber opening with a low _clunk_.

Naruto tried to figure out what had Salty so curious about in Cyandog's medal chamber. Then it dawned on him after he had rubbed his chin for a few moments.

"Spyke… Would you care to tell me what's wrong with this picture?" Naruto asked with a deadpanned expression as he looked into said medabot's medal chamber.

"I paid full price for it," Spyke said. "What? Did I put it upside down or something?" he asked.

Naruto slapped himself in the face before putting Spyke's face right up at Cyandog's back.

"No you spiky-haired goof!" Naruto cried in exasperation as he pulled on the boy's ear and dragged him into view of the medal chamber. "The price you paid isn't the issue. This medal is a _monkey _medal!" he as he pointed at the monkey-like image on the medal. For some reason, it's sheer existence seemed to be mocking their efforts.

"Monkey medal?" Cyandog asked, since he can't really _see _the monkey on his back, since it's built _into _him.

"Is that a problem?" Spyke asked.f

"Of course it is! Cyandog is a dog-type medabot that uses shooting parts. Monkey medals are only compatible with parts that disorient your enemy through dizzying strikes! In short, _this _is exactly why you keep losing!" Naruto said in exasperation as he held his hands to the sides of his head. "The two are _literally_ as compatible as a monkey and a dog. Or, as Erika likes to call it, a monkey-dog relationship."

"Monkey-dog relationship?"

"Historically, monkeys and dogs have never seen eye to eye. They're constantly fighting over who's the better animal," Naruto explained as he pulled out a diagram with a monkey on the left, a dog on the right, and Mt. Fuji in the background that was in the pile of salvaged materials for some reason. "Things _really _came to a head in the 50s when a dog was the first animal launched into space. Sure they eventually launched a monkey, but the damage was done. The monkeys never forgave the dogs for being the first animal in space."

"Well what can I do?" Spyke asked. "All I have are Cyandog's parts. I don't have anything else, and if I change out his medal, I'll lose my best friend in the whole world," he cried as he hugged Cyandog to his chest.

"There there boss," Cyandog said trying to console his master.

At that, Naruto put his hand to his chin in thought, then, dawning on something, fwhispered to Metabee before speaking again. "Spyke, hold out your Medawatch."

Spyke did as he was told, Naruto pressing a button on his as a laser connected to Spyke's medawatch.

"Transfer: Medapart," Naruto said as Cyandog's right arm began to glow before it was replaced with a bulky red limb with large bolts on the end of the arm that trailed onto the ground.

"What in the world is this?" Cyandog asked.

"That would be a Decoy Crab medapart," Naruto explained. "To put it simply, it's more compatible with Cyandog's medal than his shooting parts were. Besides, Metabee can't use grappling parts because of his Kabuto medal, which specializes in shooting weapons." _Still, I may want to broaden my horizons, _Naruto thought to himself. _Sumilidon's _Flexosword _looked pretty sweet. Maybe the next time I see Koji, I'll challenge him to a robattle and win it off him. Either that or the _Straw Hammer.

"Thank you Naruto!" Spyke cried in joy as he hugged the blonde, eliciting a peeved expression as he tried to pry the desperate boy from his side. "Now that I have this, I can _definitely _win!"

"Hold it Spyke, we may've trained you with shooting medaparts, but grappling medaparts are a different matter altogether," Naruto said as an ominous shadow formed over his face, causing Spyke to pale in fear. "By the time I'm done with you, every part of your body…" he started ominously, causing Spyke and Cyandog to hug one another in fears. "Is _going_ to _sweat_," he finished grimly, his face becoming shadowed ominously as he seemed to tower over Spyke, though in reality it was only because Metabee put a footstool there that happened to be in the pile of stuff.

"Starting training montage music," Metabee chirped happily as he pressed the play button once more, the _Eye of the Tiger _intro playing loudly. "Man I love this song. Really gets the blood flowing, you know?"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Spyke cried in terror, while Cyandog remained neutral.

* * *

One slightly-altered training montage later, Naruto sat on a rock at the edge of the creek, resting his feet in the river as Spyke and Cyandog lay on the ground behind him and Metabee, completely exhausted from the training they went through. True to the words of the blond-temporarily-turned gym teacher, every part of the prior's body was covered in sweat.

"Well, I think he's grasped the basic principle," Naruto said as he chucked his bottle into a nearby trashcan.

"That I think too," Metabee said. "But how did you know about all that stuff? Were you in fights before?" he asked referring to all the strategies, tips, and basic techniques they were instructed in. At least that time they did more than work out.

"I'm not sure," Naruto replied. "It all just came naturally to me for some reason. Like I did this kind of thing a long time ago. Except I'm only ten. It's weird I tell you. It's like there's something on the tip of my mind that I'm supposed to know, but for some reason I just can't figure it out."

"Maybe you're just thinking too much," Metabee sighed, then looked to the downed students. "Think we should wake them up?"

"Heck if I know," Naruto replied. "Maybe we should just let them sleep for a while."

"Naruto! Spyke!" Erika suddenly called out as she ran down the road at the top of the hill.

"Guys! Where are you?" Brass called out.

"Down here?" Naruto called out as he got his feet out of the river.

"Thank goodness, you took care of Spyke's problem," Erika sighed. "Uh, what on earth are you wearing?" she asked as she looked Naruto up and down.

"Training outfit," Naruto said jabbing a thumb at himself.

"O-Oh. Well… you look very nice," Erika said as she tried to shake off her blush. _H-He looks so cool with that headband on._

"_Problem_? You make me sound like some sort of rabid dog!" Spyke protested.

"Hey!" Cyandog quipped at that dog-related remark.

"Ah! I didn't mean anything by it!" Spyke amended.

"There's no time for this!" Erika interrupted. "Sam just challenged the Ankle Biters to a robattle, and she's _losing_ as we speak."

"Say what?" Naruto and Metabee gasped. Sam was one of the toughest robattlers they knew, especially after Baron von Banish had disappeared after his smackdown, so hearing this shocked them a bit.

"Boss! I'm coming!" Spyke cried as he and Cyandog ran up the hill and toward the park.

"Let's go!" Naruto said as he and Metabee dashed off after their spiky-haired pupil.

"Guys! Wait for me!" Erika cried as she ran after them, only to be left in their dust.

* * *

By the time the group of six arrived at the playground, Peppercat was already face down in the dirt, severely beaten by a group of demonic toddlers, their Churlybear's eyes glowing red with hate. And red light. But mostly hate. And evil.

"_These _are the guys you lost to?" Naruto said as he eyed the Ankle Biters. True, the look in their eyes creeped him out a bit, but were they really _that _evil.

Afterwards, he looked at the bear-shaped medabot they were using, and figured that gravity control could be tricky in _any _situation. Or at least if Erika's informant's information was anything to go by.

"Boss!" Spyke cried as he rushed to Sam's side.

"Spyke? Weren't you fired?" Sloan asked.

"Oh Peppercat," Sam cried. "They tossed you around like a ragdoll," she cried as she pulled her medabot into her lap.

"I'm… sorry boss…" Peppercat moaned before she lost consciousness.

"Boss…" Spyke said as he looked at the prone and defeated figure of his boss. "Rrrrrr! You kids! You're going to _pay _for this!" Spyke roared at the Ankle Biters

"What did you say?" the Ankle Biters demanded, the shadows hiding their faces ominously.

"Ah, _there's _the evil eye," Naruto commented.

"_Nothing_," Spyke said femininely as he hid behind Erika. "It was _her_."

"No it wasn't!" Erika argued.

"How'd you get over here from over there?" Naruto wondered, since Spyke had instantaneously moved several yards in the blink of an eye.

"Spyke! For once in your miserable life, man up and stand for yourself!" Naruto demanded as he raised Spyke off his feet by his collar, his eyes flashing red for a few seconds.

"No way! They already got boss! I'm a defeated dog! I'm as good as dog meat!" Spyke cried as he shook Erika by the shoulders.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Cyandog quipped.

"True. But every dog has his day," a slightly familiar voice said, revealing its owner as the Chick Salesman. "Plus, a good dog will remain loyal to his master. A good dog never backs down."

That statement went unnoticed however as Naruto and Erika began shaking Spyke back and forth.

"Stand up for your boss you chicken!" Naruto shouted after making sure there weren't any chicken-shaped medabots around. Odds were, there was at least _one _medabot type like that around.

"No! Stop pounding me alright?" Spyke asked.

"We will when you stop running away from toddlers!" Erika shouted.

"Running won't solve anything!" Naruto shouted. "Especially when it's from toddlers!"

"So what? I'm a defeated _dog_!" Spyke cried.

"You'll never amount to anything with an _that _attitude!" the Chick Salesman shouted as he suddenly came out of nowhere into the middle of their group.

"So? What do I do?" Spyke asked, seemingly not disturbed by how the Chick Salesman suddenly came up into the middle of their group like a wack-a-mole.

"Allow me to explain with a metaphor about two other animals. Do you mind?" the Chick Salesman asked. "Please, may I?"

"Go ahead. No one's stopping you," Naruto stated.

"Consider a cat that has cornered a mouse. The mouse is smaller and weaker, but when it can see no way out, the tiny creature will _strike back even _against its worst enemy, the cat," he explained with a detailed diagram with a cat approaching a mouse, which was hissing madly at the cat and looking like it was doing a kung fu kick.

_Where do people keep pulling these heavily-detailed diagrams from? _Brass asked herself.

"He's right! You _have _to fight back!" Erika said with her hands on her knees.

"Yeah! If you run away now, you'll be a defeated dog for the rest of your life!" Naruto shouted. "A dog defeated by freaking _toddlers_!"

"As a medafighter it's your duty to stand up to even the _strongest _of opponents!" Erika said jabbing a finger in Spyke's face. "Naruto started out as a social outcast because he didn't have a medabot, but then he defeated the Punk Rockers, Baron von Banish, the Rubberrobo Gang, and everything else in his way!"

"Wow. This pep talk turned out better than I thought," the Chick Salesman said to himself, Metabee and Brass at his side nodding in agreement.

"Okay! You talked me into it!" Spyke shouted. "I challenge you three to a robattle!"

"Then it's agreed," Mr. Referee said as he poked his head out of the bottom of the sandbox. "I officially declare this match a submission robattle. Medafighters ready? Medabots… robattle!"

As Cyandog faced off against Churlybear, the clouds overhead turned black, bathing unnatural shadows over everything.

"Weird. The weatherman didn't predict rain," Metabee stated.

"Or an eclipse," Brass added.

"Since when was the weather man ever right?" Naruto asked. "Remember last winter when he said there'd be snow, but then there was a heat wave?"

"You've got a point there," Erika added.

"It ended right after Sam lost, but now it started up again," Sloan commented.

"Those are some freaky weather patterns," Metabee commented.

As Spyke leered at Churlybear, wanting to avoid the Ankle Biter's creepy gaze, he remembered what Naruto had told him at one point during his training.

"_Getting the first hit in is important in any robattle, however, if that isn't possible, then you should try to avoid the first hit and retaliate as soon as you can. You have to be careful you don't get lured into a trap however. Sometimes one slipup is all it takes to seriously lose a robattle."_

_Okay, so I just have to get in and out before Cyandog gets hit, _Spyke thought to himself. "Cyandog! Give it to him!"

"Right boss!" Cyandog said as he ran at Churlybear, his movements monkeylike before he lunged and began delivering a barrage of punches to his opponent's face.

"Woah! Look at the little monkey go!" Metabee stated.

"Monkey?" Sam asked after placing Peppercat on a bench.

"Spyke's problem wasn't really as much a lack of skill as it was an incompatible medal-to-part relationship," Naruto answered.

After a few more hits, the Ankle Biters sprung into action.

"Churlybear, send that dog flying," the teeny tiny teeter totter terrors ordered.

"Rrrrrah!" Churlybear roared as it launched a face-shaped beam at Cyandog, knocking him backwards.

The moment he got up, Churlybear began launching gravity balls at Cyandog from its arms, forcing him to make a break for it before he got hit.

"_Utilizing available cover is key in any robattle where it's applicable. Even if something looks questionable as cover, _some _cover is better than _no _cover."_

_Some is better than none. Some is better than none. Some is better than none, _Spyke thought to himself, repeating this mantra as his eyes darted around the playground fervently.

The next moment they landed on one of the pieces of playground equipment. It was iffy, but better than nothing.

"Cyandog! Into the monkey bars!" Spyke ordered.

"_Monkey_ bars?" Erika asked.

"Right boss," Cyandog said as he dove under the monkey bars.

Moments later, the gravity balls fell toward Cyandog, buffering against the monkey bars but not striking Cyandog.

"He's using the terrain to his advantage…" Sam mused as Cyandog hid in the monkey bars, the cubic metal structure sheltering him.

"When'd he learn that?" Sloan wondered.

"Churlybear! Chase that mutt out of there!" the Ankle Biters ordered.

Churlybear growled menacingly before raising its arms at Cyandog, the gravity generators in its arms glowing red before shooting a concentrated beam onto the monkey bars. As Churlybear continued its attack, the entire structure began to glow bright red.

"What're they doing? They're not even hitting him?" Erika stated as Churlybear continued the attack.

" . . . " Naruto mused as he watched the attack continued. _What're they doing? The attack is so spread out that not only isn't it going to hit Cyandog, but the damage will be minimum to nothing._

The next moment, the groaning of metal met his ears, and Naruto immediately realized the Ankle Biter's evil intent.

"Spyke! The gravity beam is going to compress the monkey bars right onto Cyandog!" Naruto shouted.

"Say what?" Spyke cried.

The groaning of the metal bars echoed through the air as the entire structure began to compress onto itself.

"If that thing collapses, Cyandog will be completely trapped!" Naruto cried.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Cyandog cried as the monkey bars began to close in on him. _Literally_.

"Cyandog! Run for it!" Spyke cried to his medabot.

Cyandog quickly got out on all fours and started crawling out from under the glowing monkey bars, the spaces closing in around him as he crawled out.

Moments later, the entire set of monkey bars collapsed, a massive cloud of dust being kicked up.

"Cyandog!" Spyke cried as the monkey bars and Cyandog were concealed behind a veil of smoke.

The playground was silent for several minutes, the cloud of dust rising from the monkeybars. A minute later, the dust cleared, Cyandog right on the outise.

Unfortunately, not _all_ of him was out, his left ankle pinned between a pair of collapsed bars..

"Ahhhhh!" Spyke cried. "His ankle got caught!"

"Boss! I'm trapped!" Cyandog cried as he tried to jerk his leg out repeatedly.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! We got you trapped~!" the Ankle Biters sang. "Now Churlybear! Give doggy a good night kiss!"

"Rrrrrraaaah!" Churlybear roared as its face began to glow, preparing to launch another face-beam.

"Cyandog! Keep pulling!" Spyke cried

"Right bo-agh!" Cyandog cried as the face-beam suddenly struck him head on, kicking up a massive cloud of smoke.

"Hahaha! We win again~!" the Ankle Biters sang out.

"Cyandog…" Spyke moaned as he fell to his knees. "I can't believe I lost again… Why…"

"_No matter what happens, believe in your medabot. If you don't believe in your own medabot, then you've already lost."_

"No! It isn't over 'til the fat lady sings!" Spyke cried with newfound confidence.

"Hey leave my mother out of this!" Sloan quipped.

"Cyandog! Get up and fight!" Spyke ordered as the smoke began to clear around his medabot. It's body was charred black, his arms and free leg sprawled out around it as the monkey bars continued to smolder. "Come on Cyandog!" he cried out. "Get up! Get up! GET UP!"

The tension in the air mounted as Cyandog's optics remained dark, his body sprawled out. From everyone else's perspective, it didn't look like he was getting up any time soon.

* * *

At the same time, Cyandog was lost in a dark place, inky blackness in all directions as he floated in the middle of nowhere. What more, his Decoy Crab was no longer on his shoulder, but his regular Side Laser instead.

"Where am I? Am I dead?"he asked himself as he looked himself over. He seemed fine, but he didn't like the feeling of this blackness around him.

After a few seconds, he turned around. If he had a face, it would've been one in surprise. Staring him in the face was none other than the monkey medal in his back, mocking him with its mere existence. The only difference from before was that it was about as large as he was tall.

"Huh?"Cyandog thought as he felt around his back. After fiddling around his back for a few minutes, the latch finally unlatched, the flap on his back opening to his medal chamber. After his hands fumbled around for another few minutes, his fingertips grazed against one of his medal's six corners. "Wait a minute, if that's there, then what's here?" he asked as he looked back to the monkey medal.

**Ook ook ook ook! Ah ah ah ah ah!**

"Oh, I remember now. I lost to that bear medabot,"Cyandog thought to himself sadly.

**Ook ook ook ook! Ah ah ah ah ah!**

"Wait a minute… This is _your _fault!" Cyandog growled pointing a finger at the giant monkey medal pointing at him. "If you weren't a monkey medal, my shooting parts wouldn't be malfunctioning like this!"

**Ook ook ook ook! Ah ah ah ah ah!**

"Stop mocking me!" Cyandog cried.

"No! It isn't over 'til the fat lady sings!" Spyke cried with newfound confidence.

"Hey leave my mother out of this!" Sloan quipped.

"_**Cyandog!" **_

"Boss?" Cyandog mused in thought

"_**Get up and fight!"**_

"Boss? Is that you? Where are you?" Cyandog asked.

"_**Come on Cyandog!" **_

"Just keep shouting boss! I'll follow the sound of your voice!" Cyandog cried.

"_**Get up! Get up! GET UP!"**_

"Boss! He needs me!" Cyandog said as he turned around and ran, only to stop short, handing his head in shame. "Wait… If I get back up, I'll just lose again," he said sadly.

**Ook ook ook ook! Ah ah ah ah ah!**

"No… I'll get up and fight! No matter how many times it takes!" Cyandog roared as he rounded on the giant monkey medal, pointing at it, the medal in his back heating up.

"You hear me! I don't care if the monkey on my back is built into me!" he roared as his visor began to heat up.

"I'LL FIGHT! YOU HEAR ME! I'LL FIGHT!" he roared as a blazing green aura began to surround his body.

The next moment the black space was overcome with a bright green light.

* * *

Back in the outside world, as Spyke continued to stare at Cyandog's defeated form, the Ankle Biters threw in their two cents.

Literally.

Right at Cyandog's head.

**CLINK CLANK**

"And stay down! Stupid dog!" the Ankle Biters cried.

"Cyandog…" Spyke moaned as he fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry. If I were a better robattler, then you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Ooooooghhhhh…" a low moan murmered.

"Look, Cyandog is glowing!" Erika stated as she pulled out her video camera.

When everyone looked back to Cyandog, to their shock, his limbs shaking as he began to force himself up from his beaten state, his visor glowing green as he began to get up.

"Woah… Cyandog's getting back up…" Spyke awed.

"Grrrrraaaaaaaaahhhh!" Cyandog roared as he laid on his back, raising his right arm above his head. The next moment, he slammed the Decoy Crab into the mangled remains of the jungle gym, the heap of metal exploding upon the impact and freeing his leg.

"Spyke! Capitalize on this! Get going while the getting's still good!" Naruto shouted as Cyandog got back up.

"Ah! Right!" Spyke replied. "Cyandog! Get Churlybear!"

"Rrrrraaaaawr!" Cyandog roared as he rushed forward, his visor glowing as he reeled his right fist back.

"C-Churlybear! Fire!" the Ankle Biters cried in panic as the glowing dog-type medabot approached their shocked medabot.

The next moment, Churlybear fired its gravity beam straight forward. Cyandog was then struck dead-on in the chest by Churlybear's attack, and was sent spinning off to the side by the force of the attack.

"Ha ha hahaha! You lose _again_," the Ankle Biters cackled with renewed confidence as Cyandog teetered sideways.

As the Ankle Biters reveled in their apparent victory, they failed to notice Cyandog's last move until it was too late.

While Cyandog had in fact been knocked off course, his outstretched arm had swung around him and slammed into the back of Churlybear's head, knocking it out cold from the force of the impact to its unguarded flank.

"Function ceased! The winner is Cyandog!" Mr. Referee announced at the defeat of Churlybear.

"Yahoo! We won!" Spyke cheered as the cloud coverage and eclipse receded.

"W-We lost…" the leading Ankle Biter moaned.

At that moment, the glow on Cyandog's body finally faded, leaving a stunned Cyandog in its wake.

"Huh? What happened?" he asked as he looked around.

"Ha! Cyandog chewed you up and spat you up!" Sam grinned, apparently ignoring Cyandog's stupefied state. "Now take that teddy bear of yours and _beat _it!"

"Waaaaaaaah! We're telling our mommies on you!" the Ankle Biters cried as they carried off their defeated medabot.

"Yeah! We did it!" Spyke cheered again as he grabbed Cyandog's hands and danced in a circle.

"Boss? Did I miss something?" Cyandog asked as he walked around in a circle. "I heard your voice."

"Remember, _I _taught you how to fight," Naruto said crossing his arms. Apparently, he didn't hear Cyandog's statement either.

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Taught him stuff all day today," Naruto answered.

"Oh. Well, Naruto… Thanks for helping Spyke," Sam finished.

"Hey, it was nothing really," Naruto replied rubbing the back of his head.

_Man, what a robattle, _Sam mused as she watched the robattle on the camera. _He looked like he was dead, but then he started glowing, he destroyed the monkey bar wreckage, and took down Churlybear. Come to think of it, Metabee did that when he fought the Punk Rockers too._

"Spyke," Sam said addressing the spiky-haired kid. "You did good."

"Boss… Does that mean I'm part of the Screws again?" Spyke asked hopefully.

"Well… I guess I can give you another chance," Sam shrugged. "You beat someone _I _couldn't, so I guess I owe you that much."

"Well. I think I did a good job here," Naruto said lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Now then…" Sypke said deviously as he turned to Naruto. "Cyandog! Defeat Metabee and take his medaparts!"

"Say what?" Naruto and Metabee demanded.

"Spyke you traitor!" Erika and Brass cried, completely appalled.

_Spyke you dope, you aren't ready to take on Naruto yet, _Sam sighed as she rubbed her temples. _He may've taught you everything _you_ know, but I doubt he taught you everything _he _knows._

* * *

At the same time on one of the hills overlooking the playground, a certain store clerk had observed the entirety of that robattle with a musing look on his face.

"Hmmmm…" Henry mused as he replayed the events of the battle in his head. "His visor glowed green just like Metabee's eyes did when he faced the Punk Rockers. Is there something similar between Metabee and Cyandog's medals?"

* * *

Back at the playground moments later.

"You've got it boss!" Cyandog said answering his master.

"Why you dirty dog! You said you owed me one!" Metabee growled pointing a finger at Cyandog.

"You're right. I do owe you one. One _robattle_ that is," Cyandog answered. "Now it's payback time."

"Cyandog! Attack!" Spyke ordered. "Give him a flurry of fisticuffs!"

A moment later, Cyandog rushed out at Metabee and swung his fists at him wildly… only to completely miss with every swing.

"He… He's not even close to hitting anything," Erika said with a dumbstruck expression on her face.

"I'm guessing that's not normal," Brass stated, one of her eyes twitching.

"For the love of god…" Naruto sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. _And to think he took down that Churlybear like a pro moments ago._ "Metabee. Missile Launch," he ordered as he hung his head in shame. _I taught this guy better, and five minutes in, he screws it all up._

"Right…" Metabee sighed as he lowered his head. "Missile Launch."

The next moment Cyandog was blown back by the point-blank range missile launches.

"Remember to _aim _next time!" Metabe shouted as Cyandog reached the zenith of his _flight_.

"Thank you master!" Cyandog said before he hit the ground.

**CLANG**

" . . . " was all Sam could say to this display. The sight of Cyandog's smoking wreckage isn't exactly the most confidence-inspiring thing you can see. "Sypke. You're fired. Again."

"But boss!" Sypke cried desperately. "I'll be your shoe shiner. Lunch maker? Gum holder? Corn sander? Anything?"

"Not _our_ problem!" Naruto and Metabee said as they lifted Erika and Brass off their feet and bolted, leaving the Screws in their dust.

"We've done all _we _can!" Metabee said as he ran off with Brass in his arms.

_Weird. First Cyandog gets up after nearly getting KOd, then a few minutes later, he gets knocked down again. Was it all a fluke? _Erika thought as she was carried away. A moment later she noticed Naruto was carrying her in his arms bridal style, and promptly passed out.

"Erika? Erika, you okay?" Naruto asked as he saw that Erika had passed out in his arms.

_Hehe. Metabee's carrying me like a princess, _Brass giggled internally like the giddy schoolgirl her design was modeled off of.

* * *

At the same time back on the top of the hill.

"On the other hand… maybe it really _was_ just a fluke," Henry stated as Spyke cried over Cyandog's fallen form, unwittingly repeating the thoughts on Erika's mind.

A moment later, the chick that he had to purchase from the Chick Salesman the last time they met after he had accidentally broken one of the eggs poked up from atop his head, chirping a few times in affirmation.

"I hear ya," Henry sighed. "I hear ya."

* * *

**Sorry about not updating for so long. Been really busy with college and other stuff.**

**Anyway, I made some changes to the original plot for Medabots episode 7, but kept some things consistent. Hope you both like and notice those changes.**

**Riyo will act as Erika's informant in the future. Every good reporter needs one.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Look forward to more.**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	10. Robattle Tournament to End All Others

**Just for the record, this isn't going to be the last chapter just because the title has ****to End All Others ****in it. It's just a common phrase used.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

One afternoon, a few days after Naruto helped Spyke and Cyandog overcome their former robattling incompetency, Naruto and Metabee found themselves sitting on the couch watching one of the major sports programs. As the previous program was about to end, the two were on the edges of their seat as they were preparing to watch what was probably the most-anticipated program for the two of them all year long. Or at least for them, since Naruto and Metabee hadn't known one another for more than a couple months.

"C'mon, start already," Metabee grumbled as the credits for the previous show ran through.

The next moment, the screen opened up on a blue-tinted steel ceiling before panning downward to a red-floored arena, three elongated medal-shaped battle stages set across the grounds, arena staff and medafighters scattered around.

"_Good evening, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, medabots and medafighters, and welcome to the world robattle championship," _the announcer announced. _"We're live in Switzerland with a record crowd of one thousand robattle fans," _he continued as the screen panned across a massive throng of spectators of all descriptions._ "Two contestants remain, but only one will be crowned Robattle Champion of the World. Representing Team Spain's Romando, with his medabot, Redmatador," _he announced as a man in a blue suit with red and yellow shoulder decorations appeared on the screen, a silver blue and gold-armored centaur-shaped medabot with golden horns and a cape over its left shoulder appearing on the monitor. _"And representing Team Kenya is Victor with his medabot, Warbandit," _the referee announced as a burgundy-armored medabot with yellow and orange trim, resembling Sumilidon but with a blue visor appeared on the screen, but was primarily shooting-based. Standing behind him was a tanned man with his head shaven, a red vest, and distinctive purple glasses.

"_This is the decider folks. Who will be the world robattle champion. I will pass you to our robattle referee, Referee Ron."_

"Medafighters ready?" Ron asked in a country accent. "Medabots, robattle!"

"Hey, where's Mr. Referee?" Metabee asked.

"He can't be _everywhere _at the same time_,_" Naruto said hushing Metabee as the bell rung like in a boxing match. "Besides, I think there's a referee stationed in every other town across the world to represent the world robattle association."

At the same time Redmatador had rushed at Warbandit with his saber poised to strike, Warbandit raising his left arm and firing a volley of shots, only for Redmatador to swing his cloak around himself and block the attacks.

"_Diiiirect hit by Warbandit, he's forcing Redmatador right back into a corner," _the referee announced.

"Warbandit has firepower on his side, but Redmatador's Cape Shield boasts an extraordinary defense," Naruto observed as he watched the match. "Warbandit's going to have to come up with another way to get around that if he doesn't want to waste ammo."

The next moment, Warbandit adjusted his sighting and blasted Redmatador's left horn right off his head, sending it into the air before it stabbed itself into the ground.

"_What a shot, Warbandit has taken the bull by the horn!" _the announcer announced. _"What precision. What teamwork. Folks, this is history in the making!"_

"This is awesome!" Naruto cheered.

"Pfht. I could do better than that," Metabee grunted.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbled as he continued to watch the rest of the match.

* * *

Later that day after watching the remainder of the match, which, by the way, was totally awesome, Naruto left Metabee to sulk about it not being _him _on the 'tube as he went over to the 24 Hour Hopmart to ask for some advice from the person who he figured knew the most about medabots in town.

"Looking for a bit of power to give you an edge, eh?" Henry answered after Naruto asked him about it. "Hey, there are a _ton _of medaparts that give ya extra power, but first you've gotta give your medabot a tune-up."

"You're right about that. Even if I have the best medaparts in the world, they'll only slow down Metabee unless he's in tip-top shape," Naruto stated. "Now that I think about it, it's been forever since the last time I even _polished _Metabee's parts. Come to think of it, I don't think there even _was _a last time."

"You need to hold your plans for a sec and think about the big picture. A robattle tournament is serious stuff and will push your medabot to the absolute limit," Henry continued. "If I were you, I'd take Metabee apart and give him a thorough cleanup."

"I agree, but I'd have to take his medal out, and he'd never let me do that. Remember the last time we tried that? He went completely ballistic and chased us halfway across town," Naruto stated, shuddering at the memory of it all.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," Henry groaned. _I'm _still _trying to get the smell of rotten fruit out of my hair, _he sighed. "I know. What if you put his medal in a spare body? Do you think he'd go for that?"

"I don't know. Maybe, but I'm not so sure at the moment," Naruto said as he took a sip from his drink.

"Hmmmmm… Hold on a sec," Henry said as he went behind the counter. A minute later he came back with a shiny new tinpet in his hands. "This one's almost brand new, but I don't mind lending it to you. Promise you'll take care of it?"

"Sure thing. I'll bring it back to you as good as new," Naruto said as he reached out toward the tinpet, only for Henry to pull it out of arm's reach.

"Hmmmm. I don't know. Should I lend it to you? My heart says yes, but my wallet says no," he said with a smug look on his face.

"I seem to remember you tried to _steal _my medabot only a few hours after I got him," Naruto grumbled with crossed arms.

"Alright, you've made your point," he said passing the tinpet to Naruto, along with the box it came in. "Just promise me you won't _robattle _with that tinpet. This is just so you can give Metabee a spare to walk around in until the tournament."

"Yeah, sure thing," Naruto said carrying the tinpet under his arm and out of the store.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Metabee came back to the house after giving Salty a walk.

"Hey everyone, I'm home," he called out, only to find out that no one was there. "Hmmm. Maybe Naruto settled down for a nap," he thought as he went up to the boy's room. "AH!" he cried as he suddenly caught sight of another medabot in the room.

The medabot's head part was the Mistyghost's _Void _part, its left arm was Blackram's _Devil Arm_, its right arm was Peppercat's _Lightjump, _and its legs were Phoenix's _Red Tail_.

"What? That little traitor! Replacing me and- Oh, a note," he said as he picked a note taped to the medabot's chest. "Hmmm…?"

**Dear Metabee,  
****Went out to get some cleaning supplies and tools to give your parts a tune-up. If we're going to win this thing, we have to be at our best, and the only way to do that is to take you apart and make sure all of your equipment and parts are clean and up to spec.  
****Of course, I also know you wouldn't stand being cooped up in my medawatch as I did that, so I made arrangements to have a back-up set up for you.  
****Once I get back, I'd really appreciate it if you let me eject your medal and put it in this spare. Otherwise, I won't be able to clean your parts, and you may end up losing to someone of Koji's caliber if we come across them.  
****Also, during the tournament, I'd like to experiment with using other types of parts to expand your repertoire, so I'll be cleaning those out too.  
****I should have all of this done the day before the Robattle Tournament starts, so you'll be able to get back and used to your own body before the tournament.**

**P.S.  
Just for the record, I can **_**not **_**give your parts a tune-up if you're still "in" there, so this part is non-negotiable.**

"Mmmmmmm… I don't like it, but I _could _do for a cleanup," Metabee sighed. "Fine. If it's to win, I'll endure this," he said plopping himself down in front of his would-be body.

* * *

A week later, the City-Wide Robattle Tournament had begun. The sky was clear, the people were cheering, throngs of people were gathering around the battle stages, and smokebombs were going off in the sky to commemorate the event.

"Woah. I feel like a new medabot," Metabee marveled as he got used to his own body. "My medaparts are all shiny and new, and they don't squeak when I move them."

As all this happened, a certain blond looked up into the sky, his eyes tracing the remaining haze from every bomb that went off in the sky.

_Smoke bombs… _Naruto thought to himself, a wave of pain suddenly shooting through his head.

"_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**_

When he looked around for the source of the voice, he found that no one had spoken to him just then. In fact, the voice that went through his head… was his?

"Hey Nar, is something wrong?" Metabee asked.

"That voice. Didn't you hear it?"

"I hear voic_es_, but I don't know the one _you're_ talking about," Metabee deadpanned.

"The voice… it said… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…"

"Huh… Sounds like a ninja technique to me," Metabee said shrugging his shoulders.

_More like Ninjutsu… wait, what? _Naruto asked himself as he suddenly clutched the side of his head in pain. _Argh! All these images… first... was a nindo… the way of the ninja… then how to throw… _fuma _shuriken… then the beaches… water walking… What's happening to me?_

"Naruto, are you okay?" Hikari asked putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Mom? Ugh, nothing, I think it's gone," Naruto said as she helped him get back to his feet.

"You've been getting a lot of headaches lately," Metabee said. "Do we need to get you checked out."

"Well… maybe I'll get checked out after this," Naruto stated as he headed over to the competitor's tents. "I mean really, what's the worst that could happen?"

_Naruto… I wish I could tell you, I really do, but I just don't think I can put that kind of weight on your shoulders right now, _Hikari sighed to herself. "I'll be watching all your matches sweetie!"

"M-Mom! Don't call me _sweetie_! It's embarrassing!" Naruto cried in embarrassment as he dragged Metabee over to the tent to do a last-minute checkup.

* * *

The first match that Naruto participated in was against Dr. Bokchoy of Riverview's Student Board.

"You guys again?" Naruto asked as he looked Dr. Bokchoy over. _They _still _haven't put any weapons on it, _he sighed. _Oh well. This will give me the chance to try out Blackram's Devil Arm medapart with the minimal risk, _he said looking at the black-clawed arm replacing Metabee's Revolver.

"That is correct. We are here to regain the honor we lost when The Screws bested us last," the president stated confidently.

At that moment another shot of pain went through his head. When it receded, an attack pattern formed in his mind's eye. _It's official. I _have _to get checked out once this is all over. "Metabee. When the fight starts…"_

"Overseeing the first match of this City-Wide Robattle Tournament will be me, Mr. Referee," the man said as he stood beside the stage. "Medafighters ready? Medabots… ROBATTLE!" he said as he brought his arms down.

"Charge Dr. Bokchoy!" the student president ordered, in which said medabot rushed forward.

Before said medabot could attack with whatever he could've with radar-based parts, Metabee suddenly leapt into the air with his left arm aimed at Dr. Bokchoy, rapidly spinning like a sideways top. At the moment it drove under him, the Devil Arm suddenly came down on top of its head, driving it into the ground in one shot causing cracks to spread across the floor.

"Function ceased. The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee announced as Dr. Bokchoy's medal clattered against the ground.

"Whyyyyy?" the nerds cried.

"Woohoo! Way to go Metabee!" Naruto cheered. "Uh, Metabee?"

"Too… much… spinning…" Metabee groaned as he hobbled around.

"Note to self: Don't do that again," Naruto stated as he shook his head.

At the same time, he heard a soft giggling sound coming from behind him. When he turned around, he saw that it was Karin from before.

"Karin? What're _you _doing here?" Naruto asked, honestly surprised that she was there.

"Oh hello Naruto. I see you made it to the tournament too. Isn't it fun?" she asked cheerfully.

"You bet. Now that I've got Metabee, we're going to push our way to the top!" Naruto cheered as he threw an arm over the still-dizzy Metabee's shoulders.

The next moment, a sound of people cheering and a metal hitting the ground drew their attention to another ring. In it was a triumphant Sumilidon standing over the downed Femjet, the winner of last year's tournament.

"Wow, what an upset. The defending champion Femjet, not only has she been wholly defeated by Sumilidon, but in record time too," Erika announced as Brass recorded the event. The rich boy looked into the camera and gave a smile for it, then turned his attention on the object of his affection.

"Karin, did you enjoy my robattle?" Koji asked smugly. "I won it especially for you."

"Oh really? That's too bad, I missed the whole thing. I was busy talking with Naruto," Karin said with a carefree smile, Koji crying tears of defeat despite his victory, Naruto chuckling a bit at the sight.

"So you're competing as well?" Naruto asked.

"Heh. More like practicing," Koji said smugly. "Piddling little matches like these mean nothing to me. I got my sights set on the world championship."

"The world huh? That's pretty auspicious of you," the blond chuckled.

"That isn't completely why I'm here right now," he admitted as Sumilidon stepped off the stage. "I'm here to finish what we started back at Rosewood. I'm looking forward to defeating you in battle."

"Heh. Well first you'll have to make it to the final round," Naruto said as he walked off with Metabee. "We'll be waiting for you there."

"Yeah… so you better watch your back Sumilidon…" Metabee slurred as he pointed to who he thought was Sumilidon, only to be pointing at Mr. Referee instead.

"Oh, it seems his equilibrium is unbalanced," Karin said before summoning Neutranurse. "Come with me. We'll get Metabee fixed up in no time," she said as she took Naruto by the hand and guided him to one of the competitor's tents, Neutranurse guiding Metabee along as well.

"Wait- But Karin- Why me…?" Koji groaned as the object of his affections just walked away with his rival. And to help him out no less.

* * *

As Neutranurse helped readjust Metabee's equilibrium circuits from the unusual motions they had to compensate for, hence Metabee's equivalence to a human's dizziness, Naruto watched The Screws fight in their matches as well.

Sam's Peppercat went up against a Landmotor medabot and was able to swerve around him while landing lightning-fast strikes to its exposed flank before making its medal eject.

Spyke's Cyandog faced off against a Stingaray medabot, and was surprisingly able to win that match, though barely since for some reason he didn't use the Decoy Crab arm he had. Naruto figured he either lost it in a robattle, which would've sucked, or he just completely forgot.

It was Sloan's Totalizer that lost surprisingly, since his robattle record was better than Spyke and Cyandog's. During his fight against Koji's Sumilidon, he was completely unable to get a hit in edgewise. While Totalizer may've been powerful, he was still kinda slow, and so ended up getting beaten down by Sumilidon's melee-based parts and quick movements.

"There you go. All better," Karin cheered as Metabee rose from the bench he was using, having gotten his Revolver back as opposed to the Devil Arm.

"Be sure you do not try any motions your parts are not designed for," Neutranurse stated. "The extremes that a medabot's equilibrium sensors can be pushed to are different."

"I'll uh, keep that in mind," Metabee replied, glad he wasn't swaying around anymore.

"Thanks for the help Karin," Naruto thanked. "Now come on Metabee. We have another match. It looks like we're going up against someone's Megaphant."

"One of those guys again?" Metabee gawked. "I hope you have a plan for this one. I don't think we'll have a pile of gravel to help us this time around."

"Don't worry about it. I've got an idea," Naruto said as he began toggling with Metabee's settings.

* * *

When Metabee stepped onto the ring and faced off against his opponent's Megaphant, his medafighter locked eyes on the blond, narrowing his eyes at the very sight of him.

"So. We meet again," said a weasley-looking businessman wearing brown.

" . . . Who are you again?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"What? You don't remember me!" the man cried. "You defeated my brother and cost him that plot of land a couple weeks ago!"

" . . . Nope. Not ringing any bells," Naruto said with his head tilted to the side.

"Gaaaaaaah! Why you! Megaphant! Attack!" the man ordered, Megaphant rushing towards Metabee, who at the moment was using the Red Tail and Lightjump medaparts.

"Metabee. Wait for my signal," Naruto ordered.

Metabee nodded as the Megaphant ran at him with the intent to run him down. Using a set of flying-based legs was new for him, and he wondered what it would be like to use Peppercat's signature attack.

"Now! Jump over him and grab his head!" Naruto ordered just as Metabee was about to be trampled.

"Banzai!" Metabee called out as he flew over Megaphant, grabbing the wrecking ball on the end of his nose with his right arm. "Electric Shock Attack!" he said as he unleashed a couple hundred volts of electricity into Megaphant's head through the chain mechanism.

**Head – 35% Damage **the opponent's medawatch read.

"What?" he cried.

"Now let him go and hit him with Seeker Missiles!" Naruto ordered.

After delivering another shock, Metabee flipped over his opponent's head and took aim at the back of his head. "Missile Launch!"

**BOOM!**

**Klick-klak-cling**

"Function ceased! The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee announced.

"Man, who knew how much of a difference different medaparts could make?" Metabee asked as he floated over to Naruto, somewhat enjoying not having to _walk._

"Yeah, but I'm wondering how the others are… doing," Naruto trailed off as his eyes landed on the other ring.

"Nyaoooo!" Peppercat suddenly cried out.

**Cling-ling-ling**

"Function ceased! The winner is, Sumilidon!" Mr. Referee announced as Koji's Sumilidon had just taken down Sam's Peppercat.

"Well Naruto, looks like we'll be facing against eachother in the final match," Koji said confidently. "That is, unless you lose to _that_," he said pointing over Naruto's shoulder.

When the blond looked, he saw Cyandog at the improvised practice range shooting at tin cans that people were kind enough to leave behind. However, he missed every single one, which didn't bode well for the spiky-haired medafighter.

"Well Naruto, I have to make sure Sumilidon is okay," Karin said as she went over to the trailer that Koji had brought to upkeep his medabot. "I'll be cheering for you in your next fight, okay?"

"Thanks," Naruto said with a warm smile. "Transferring medapart!" he said after modifying Metabee's settings.

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto and Metabee faced off against Spyke and Cyandog. While the prior looked confident in their abilities, the latter looked a little unnerved.

"Medafighters ready? Medabots… ROBATTLE!" Mr. Referee said bringing his hand down.

"Sorry Spyke, but I'm going to have to use Cyandog as a yardstick for how powerful this Bombarder is," Naruto said as Metabee brandished the large missile launcher on his right arm.

"Isn't that kinda ironic?" Spyke asked, considering that it was _his _medapart first after all.

"FIRE!" Naruto ordered ignoring the spiky-haired Screw.

The next moment Metabee launched a salvo of missiles at Cyandog, all of them hitting head on before there was an explosion, a familiar monkey metal clattering onto the stage floor a foot or so away from the blue medabot's charred chassis.

"Function ceased! The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee announced.

"Oh man… that medapart looks so cool…" Spyke cried.

_I almost feel bad for him, _Naruto sighed. _Then again, he did try to betray me after I trained him, _he thought with his thoughts trailing off.

* * *

At the end of the tournament after all the fights had been done, only two medafighters were left; Naruto Tenryo with his medabot Metabee, against Koji Karakuchi with his medabot Sumilidon. While things were getting set up, Erika and Brass began recording the whole thing to premier at school in the following days.

As Brass panned toward the two, they began exchanging witty banter, just like most medafighters did before their robattles.

"I knew it would come down to this," Koji stated. "You and me in the finals. Prepare to kiss your bot goodbye."

"Hey, that's my line!" Metabee screeched.

As Naruto and Koji stood across from one another, Metabee and Sumilidon doing the same, the sky above began to fill with thunderclouds, darkening the city under its thick blanket. However, no lightning seemed to come, but just a low rumbling noise.

"You ready for this Koji?" Naruto said as he clenched his fist.

"If by ready to win, then yes I am," Koji said smugly with that same smirk he always used, brandishing his black medawatch as well.

_Rrrrr… Teme… _Naruto growled to himself, the image of a boy in white shorts, a blue high-collar shirt, black sandals, and a duck-like hairstyle superimposing itself over Koji before disappearing. _Crap, maybe going this far without getting checked out wasn't a good idea, _he said to himself as he held his hand to his head and clamped his eyes shut.

"Hey Nar, you alright?" Metabee asked.

"I'm…" the blond responded as he looked to his mom, seeing a bit of worry on her features. "I'm not sure, but we can worry about that after we fight. Okay?"

"Got it!" Metabee said pumping his fist in the air before facing Sumilidon.

"Overseeing the final match of this City-Wide Robattle Tournament will be me, Mr. Referee," Mr. Referee said getting everyone's attention. "This match will decide the title of the City Robattle Championships. Medafighters ready?"

"You bet!" Naruto answered.

"But of course!" Koji said simply.

"Medabots… ROBATTLE!" Mr. Referee said as he brought his hand down.

"Camera rolling!" Brass called out as she hit the record button, Erika aiming the boom mike at the fight but keeping it out of the camera's range so it wouldn't be caught on camera.

"Attack, Sumilidon!" Koji shouted.

"Metabee, open fire!" Naruto ordered.

The Kabuto-style medabot began firing at the Lion-style medabot, only for the latter to dodge around the prior's shots as he made his way towards him. At the last moment, Metabee parried around his opponent's Straw Hammer, firing off a few shots from his revolver, one shot clipping the medabot's shoulder.

**Right Arm – 12% Damage.**

"Darn, he got me so soon," Koji cursed. "Sumilidon, move in for the kill!"

"Metabee, he's moving in for the kill! Put your guard up!"

Metabee put his arms up to guard as Sumilidon began slashing and bashing with his sword and hammer, little by little whittling away at his medaparts.

**Left Arm – 40% Damage**

**Right Arm – 30% Damage**

_This isn't good. Metabee's parts are more for long-range, not for short range. _"Metabee! Fall back!"

"What?" the medabot cried.

"Just do it!" Naruto ordered.

"Alright! I'm trusting you!" Metabee said as he began stepping back, only to suddenly fall on his back after tripping on a crack in the arena.

"He's down Sumilidon! Move in for the finisher!" Koji ordered, his medabot growling as he ran at the prone Metabee.

"Fire your Seeker Missiles!" Naruto quickly ordered.

"Missile Launch!" Metabee shouted as he launched his missiles towards the approaching Sumilidon.

"Sumilidon! Engage disruptor!" Koji quickly ordered. Sumilidon responded by guarding himself with his arms as his visor began to glow, a green field of energy being emitted from the crest on his helmet.

The next moment, Metabee's Seeker Missiles detonated in mid-air, sending the two medabots rolling back.

**(Sumilidon) **

**Left Arm – 40% Damage**

**Right Arm – 34% Damage**

**Head - 35% Damage**

**(Metabee) **

**Left Arm – 67% Damage**

**Right Arm – 60% Damage**

**Head – 29% Damage**

"What in the world was that?" Metabee cried as he got to his feet, his arms having taken more damage than Sumilidon's did.

"Heh. That would be Sumilidon's specialty, Disruptor," Koji remarked. "Any missile-based weaponry is immediately disrupted, and as a result, they'll go off right in your face."

"Crap! He's canceled out my specialty!" Metabee growled. "Naruto! What do we do now?"

"What we did before! Fire your laser cannons at Sumilidon's right arm!" Naruto ordered.

"Firing laser cannons!" Metabee cried out as he raised his left arm at Sumilidon's Flexsorsword, shattering the claws after a few hits.

**Right Arm- 100% Damage. Function ceased.**

"Fine then! Sumilidon! Move in with your hammer fist!" Koji ordered.

"Yes master!" Sumilidon replied as he ran straight at Metabee with his hammer's bolts extended, ready to knock Metabee down.

"Metabee! Don't let that attack hit you!" Naruto shouted.

"You don't have to tell _me _twice!" Metabee said as he took aim with his rifle and fired of several shots, knocking the side bolts on Sumilidon's arm off.

**Left Arm – 80% Damage**

"Raaawr!" Sumilidon roared as he struck Metabee's left arm, ceasing its function in one shot and causing him to cry out in pain.

"Metabee! He's on his last ropes! Give it everything you have and knock out that hammer arm!" Naruto ordered.

"You got it! Raaaaaaah!" Metabee shouted as he ran at Sumilidon with his right fist reared back.

"Knock him down Sumilidon!" Koji ordered.

"Rrrrrrrrah!" Sumilidon shouted as his left fist met Metabee's.

After the two arms struggled against one another for a few seconds, the two suddenly slid off of one another and struck the other's faces.

"Wow! A cross counter!" Erika announced enthusiastically having caught that on tape, especially with the cheers from the audience as an added bonus.

The next moment, both Metabee and Sumilidon were knocked off their feet and sent rolling across the arena, the damage from their attack taking its toll almost as soon as they hit the ground.

**(Sumilidon)**

**Left Arm – 100% Damage. Function ceased.**

**Head – 70% Damage**

**(Metabee)**

**Right Arm – 100% Damage. Function ceased.**

**Head – 60% Damage**

"Amazing! After that fierce attack, both Metabee and Sumilidon are down to a head!" Erika announced. "With both their arms out of commission, just how will this match end?"

"So if both of their arms are damaged, and Naruto won't use his Seeker Missiles again, then all he has to do is wait it out and it'll be a tie?" Hikari asked, somewhat following everything that's been going on.

"Unfortunately for him, that isn't the case," Koji stated. "Due to the damage distribution throughout the match, the victory will automatically go to me. Looks like I win again Naruto," he said smugly

"First off, you never won the first time, our match was interrupted! And second, we're not done here!" Naruto shouted, his mind racing furiously for every possible way to win this tournament. "Metabee! Change your bearing 180 degrees and fire your Seeker Missiles!"

"Say what?" Metabee, Erika, Brass, Hikari, Karin, and The Screws suddenly cried out.

"Just do it!" Naruto shouted.

"Alright! I'm trusting you!" Metabee said as he turned around, his missiles poised straight at Naruto.

At that very moment, Naruto's mother panicked at the sight of Metabee's missiles aimed right at her baby and was about to go in there and stop the match herself, only to feel a set of hands grab her wrists before she could jump over the border.

"Let him do this. It's something he has to do on his own," Sam stated a bit reluctantly, Peppercat resting on her back from her previous match.

" . . . Okay," she sighed.

_Is this guy nuts? He knows my Disruptor will negate his Seeker Missiles even if he launches them again. Fine, if he won't accept defeat this way, I'll just have to take him down myself. _"Sumilidon! Activate your disruptor one more time!" Koji ordered, his medabot's visor soon glowing green as a wave of energy was emitted from its antennae once more.

"Missile Launch!" Metabee shouted as he fired off his Seeker Missiles, Naruto putting up his arms to guard from the sudden explosion.

The next moment, Metabee flew out of the smokescreen and right at a surprised Sumilidon, headbutting him before the two landed on the ground.

**Bam!**

**Thud!**

**Cling-ling-ling**

"Function ceased!" Mr. Referee announced as Sumilidon's medal fell to the ground. "The winners of the City-Wide Robattle Trounament are Naruto and Metabee!"

"Woohoo! We won!" the two cheered as they were handed the trophy. It was gold-colored and had a large sphere with a ringed point over a medal-shaped pedestal, looking like it had a medal embedded in it as well.

"He… He just turned Metabee… into a Sumilidon Seeker Missile…" Koji gaped as all of Naruto's friends ran up to congratulate him, Karin and Neutranurse included.

* * *

After the tournament had ended and everyone began going home, Naruto's friends and family gathered around to congratulate him and Metabee on a job well done. When asked about how he thought to turn Metabee into a Sumilidon Seeker Missile, well…

"You hoped? You _hoped _that would work!" Metabee cried after getting his arms in somewhat doable condition. "Because of you, all my parts are busted up and worn down all _over _again!"

"Hey, we won didn't we?" Naruto growled as he and Metabee butted heads. "Besides, I can just fix your parts up when we get home! Alright?"

"I can't believe I lost to those two," Koji cried as the two continued to bicker.

"Well _that _was certainly one hell of a robattle," Sam stated. "You got that all on camera right?"

"Yep. I've got enough footage of this tournament for an after-school special," Erika smiled. "This will also make a great story for the school paper."

"Oh I'm so proud of you," Hikari said as she hugged Naruto from behind. "You didn't give up until the very end, and now you have a shiny trophy to put up in your room."

"Mooom. You're embarrassing me," Naruto grunted with a tinge of red on his cheeks from being hugged by his mom in front of his friends.

The next moment a clap of thunder rung across the sky, and it began raining, a downpour suddenly dropping onto everyone's heads.

"Oh dear, I forgot to bring an umbrella," Hikari sighed. "The forecast didn't even _say _anything about rain."

The next moment several dozen footsteps splashed through the puddles across the ground, a few dozen rubber-wearing individuals suddenly surrounding the group from all sides.

"Oh crud," The Screws muttered as dozens of black rubbery silhouettes and Noctobat medabots suddenly surrounded the group.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Medapart Winnings**

**Dr. Bokchoy  
Legs – Chairly**

**Megaphant  
Right Arm – Right Guard**

**Cyandog  
Left Arm – Assault **

**Sumilidon  
Right Arm – Flexsorsword **

* * *

**Oh no! The evil Rubberrobo Gang has attacked the tournament grounds, surrounding Naruto and company in a phalanx formation.**

**Just how will they survive against the insurmountable odds?**

**You'll just have to keep reading to find out next time on-**

**Naruto Tenryo!**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	11. A Past Revealed

"Oh crud," The Screws muttered as dozens of black silhouettes and Noctobat medabots suddenly surrounded the group.

"Weeeeell. If it isn't the blond brat who foiled our Gimme Ghost medal scheme and all his little friends," a man wearing green-tinted glasses in an all-rubber outfit with two antennae on his head said as it began to rain around them.

"It's the rubberobos," Karin cried as she hid behind Hikari and Erika, Naruto, Koji, and The Screws forming a ring around them.

"What do you want, you rubber-wearing freaks?" Naruto growled, his eyes flashing red but not being noticed.

"Why what we always want," Seaslug said smugly. "World domination and all of your medals! Wahahahahaha!"

"Oh yeah? Well you'll have to get through us first!" Sam said as she summoned Peppercat, only to realize she was barely moving due to Koji's match. "Ah, Peppercat! Come on! Get up!"

"Cyandog! Show them what you're made of!" Spyke ordered, only to find his medabot in no better shape than Peppercat.

"Totalizer's totaled too," Sloan groaned.

"Oh no, what do we do?" Karin asked nervously as she hugged Neutranurse to herself.

"It looks like it's up to us," Metabee said as he and Brass stepped forward, only for the prior to fall to his knees. "Crap, no good."

"I'm going to call the police," Hikari said as she calmly took out her cell phone and started dialing the numbers on it.

"Oh no you don't!" one of the rubberobos said as he quickly picked up a stray rock on the ground and threw it at the phone with everything he had, only to strike her on the side of the head and knock her to the ground. "Oops. I missed."

"Mom! Mom are you okay?" Naruto cried as he ran to her side, a trail of blood flowing from the side of her head from where the rock hit. The next moment, blue energy began to flicker across his body, his eyes narrowing as he turned his gaze onto the rubberobo who threw the rock at his mom. "You… rubber-wearing freak…" he growled out as his fists clenched. "You hurt my mom!"

"Oh yeah? What're _you _going to do about it?" the offending rubberobo asked, only to suddenly feel a great weight on his chest as the blond's eyes turned red and locked onto his, almost as though the blond were willing him to die where he stood.

"I'm going… to kick… ALL OF YOUR ASSES!" Naruto roared as the flickering blue energy suddenly erupted from his body, a massive blue maelstrom of energy flying off of him and causing all of the rubberobos to take a step back.

"Naruto…" Erika gasped at the sight, the blond's hair flying upward like something from an anime, veins bulging across his forehead as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Wh-What's going on boss?" Spyke asked as he and Sloan quickly latched onto Sam.

"I'm not sure…" Sam admitted, "but if I had to guess, this is the same feeling I got from him before he decked the Baron."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto called out as he formed his middle and index fingers into a cross shape in front of him, a blast of smoke filling the area before it cleared, revealing an army of blonds all over the place.

For a moment Erika thought they were just holograms or something, like Mistyghost used before, but when it started raining, and the droplets began to fall _onto _the copies instead of _through _them, she suddenly realized that they were in fact solid.

"ATAAACK!" the Naruto who was probably the original shouted before they all rushed at the Rubberobos in every direction en masse.

"What the-" Shrimplips cried, only for a trio of Naruto to dogpile him.

"Get 'em off! Get 'em off!" Squidguts cried as a half-dozen clones leapt at him and tried to claw his face off.

"Robo-retreat!" one of the grunts cried out as they ran off.

"Hey! I didn't tell you to run!" Seaslug cried, suddenly seeing a looming shadow fall over him. When he looked over his shoulder, a dozen blonds had suddenly lunged at him, their pupils slit shaped before the man's face suddenly paled. "Robo-retreat!" he cried as he barely avoided the clones flattening him, Squidguts and Shrimplips managing to get away, while Gilgirl had been far enough away not to get caught in the fighting.

Once the rubber-wearing figures were out of sight, the copies of Naruto began disappearing in puffs of smoke until only the original was left. Said original had his hands on his knees and panted deeply, his eyes returning to normal a few seconds later.

"There… _*pant pant pant* _I chased them off…" he sighed before collapsing face-first onto the ground, his face landing in a puddle before Erika ran up to him and turned him on his back.

"Karin, what just happened?" Neutranurse asked worriedly as she finished dressing Hikari's head injury, who at the moment was waking up.

"I don't know…" the red-head said worriedly before taking out her phone. "I'm calling an ambulance. Naruto could still be hurt."

"Ooooogh… What happened?" Hikari asked shaking her head a bit.

"I… I'm not sure…" Erika said helping her up. "One moment Naruto's more angry then I've ever seen him, and then there's suddenly over three dozen of him."

"Yeah. He totally _whaled _on those rubber-wearing freaks," Sam said helping Peppercat up.

"Wait… Did you say there were over three dozen of him?" Hikari asked.

"Yes… And yet you don't sound surprised by this," Erika said right as the ambulance pulled up. "You know, Naruto's been acting strangely lately. And I don't mean mannerisms. I mean he's been _doing _weird things. I think he even walked _on _the water when we were at the beach once."

" . . . Maybe it's time I tell you about Naruto's origin," she sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "But not here. After Naruto gets treated. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Erika said while Brass helped Metabee into the ambulance, a pair of medics attending to Naruto and Hikari and bringing them into the ambulance, while Karin and Koji's chaperones pulled up, The Screws piling into Karin's limo as they sped off to the hospital.

* * *

An hour later at the Riverview Hospital, Naruto had been diagnosed with a simple case of exhaustion, though the group was able to skirt around it by saying it was from the robattle tournament. The head wound that Hikari got from the rubber-wearing freak was minimal, a bruise at the most. Both of them would be fine after some rest.

Though that would be only physically. Mentally...

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight," Erika said trying to pool together everything that Naruto's mom had told her. "When Naruto was a baby, he fell out of some sort of worm-hole, you found him, Joso pushed the adoption papers through to mark him as your son, _AND _he's some sort of de-aged ninja from another world?"

"I know it sounds strange, but it really did happen," Hikari said, hoping that she wouldn't get sent to the nut house, or worse, Naruto gets sent to a government facility and disected because he was able to make solid copies of himself.

"While it's a stretch, I do believe the solid clones he created back your story," Brass stated.

"I always _figured _something was off with him," Koji said rubbing his chin. "No wonder he beat me in that robattle."

"Didn't he beat you be_fore _he went all ninja on them?" Karin asked, causing Koji to pale.

"Hold on, how did Naruto being your _adopted _son escape notice all these years?" Metabee asked.

"Psychic Blind Spot?" Sam suggested.

"Psychic what-now?" Erika responded.

"You know, the thing hanging over Spider-Man's head that lets him preserve his secret identity when people would normally be able to piece his identity together," Sam stated.

"This is real life, not a TV show," Metabee stated.

"Is that all I am to you then? A replacement?" a dry voice croaked out, getting things back on track.

Everyone then turned Naruto's medical bed, tears streaming from his eyes as he turned his gaze out the window.

"Naruto..." Hikari sighed as she placed her hands on her son's. "Please, give me some time and I can explain everything."

"Just leave me alone! I don't want to even _look _at you right now!" Naruto growled as he grabbed his shorts and stormed out of the room, his friend's mouths agape and his mother on the verge of tears as he left.

* * *

A minute or so later, Naruto found himself on the hospital roof, the rain still pouring down on him and soaking him to the bone, his hair matted against his head as he continued to cry.

"Damn it… Why did this have to happen?" Naruto asked as he looked to the heavens, the rain doing little to hide the tears that profusely fell from his face. "I thought my mom and dad were my parents, but then I find out I'm adopted, and that I'm supposedly from another world? My whole life up 'til now's nothing more than a lie… What am I supposed to make of this!" he shouted into the sky.

After a few minutes of looking up into the heavens, he suddenly clenched his fist before slamming it onto the ground, a low thud echoing amidst the pitter patter of raindrops before he fisted his hair, the tears still streaming from his eyes.

"Damn… I know I should be angry at her. She lied to me my whole life. She told me my hair and eyes were just recessive traits, and the whisker marks on my cheeks were just _birth _marks. But… Why can't I bring myself to be angry at her?" he asked himself as he looked into a puddle that had formed on the ground. "I should be angry right? My entire life's been a lie, but I just can't stay angry. Why?"

"Maybe that's because deep down, you knew you weren't really your mom's son, but you loved her as though she were your real mother anyway," a voice said from behind him.

When Naruto looked up, he saw Metabee with a raincoat in his hands. After tossing it over the blond's shoulders, he sat beside him and hugged his knees to his chest as he glanced to his medafighter.

"What would _you_ know? You're just a machine," Naruto grumbled dryly.

"Hey, I'm trying to cheer you up, so just shut up and _listen_!" Metabee growled as he grabbed Naruto's collar and pulled him up to his feet. "So what if you're some de-aged ninja warrior or whatever from another world! You're still you! It doesn't matter who you were in the past, you're still my medafighter! Besides, think of all the good memories you've made with your family. Those can't be just lies can they?"

"You heard her. Her first child was stillborn, she ran into me at the park after I fell out of some wormhole thing, and I pretty much became her re_place_ment son after that," Naruto grumbled. "My entire life's been a bit fat LIE!" he shouted as he jerked himself out of Metabee's grip and stormed away.

"So _what _if your life's a lie?" Metabee spat, catching the blond off guard. "Nothing's changed! You're still you!" he growled before decking Naruto, sending him flying across the roof. "You're Naruto Tenryo, no matter your origins! So start acting like it!"

"Don't tell me how to live my LIFE!" Naruto shouted as he rounded on Metabee, punching him right in the faceplate and sending the medabot flying across the roof, his hand trembling as the yellow robot got to his feet.

"Oh so _that's _how you want to play it huh?" Metabee growled as he got back into the brawl.

For the next few minutes, the two continued to deck one another, both sliding back on their feet as the ran beat down on them as they fought things out. After what felt like forever, and a number of bruises and dents later, the two fell towards one another before turning and landing on their backs, their heads resting by one another as the sky began to clear.

"Metabee… Thanks for helping me get all that out," Naruto sighed as he rested his hand over his eyes to block out the sun. "I guess I just needed to vent back there."

"Heh… Any time," Metabee said raising his hand, Naruto raising his and bumping fists before the door to the roof opened, a shocked Hikari and Erika stepping out while the others stayed back.

"What happened out here? And why are your hands bloody?" Erika asked as she stepped out onto the roof.

"I uh… was just working things out?" Naruto said more like a question then a statement.

"Naruto, my baby, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner," Hikari cried as she hugged her son to her chest. "Can you ever forgive me for hiding this from you for so long?"

" . . . It's okay mom. You did what you thought was right," Naruto said hugging her back. "Come on. Let's go home."

"_*Sniff* _Sure thing," she said as she helped her son up, one last tear streaming down her face while Erika helped Metabee to his feet.

* * *

"So you really _are _a ninja? That's so cool," Spyke said the next day as Erika and The Screws had gathered at the Tenryo residence. Karin and Koji were unable to come due to the protectiveness of their parents, coupled with the mass Rubberobo sightings the other day.

"Hey, can you do that clone thing again? That was wicked!" Sam smirked with a gleam in her eye.

"I tried, but I couldn't get it to work," Naruto admitted, having come to terms with who he was, and the new life he'd lead. "The move I pulled back then probably expended all the _chakra _I've been saving up for the past ten years. I suppose I _could _use it again after a while, but it would probably freak people out."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Erika said with a small smile on her face. "But did you and Metabee _really _have to solve things with your fists?" she asked looking to Naruto's bandaged hands.

"Don't know. It was probably one of those macho things," Sam grunted as she and Peppercat helped remove the dings that Naruto had been able to put on Metabee's chassis.

"Maybe so," Naruto chuckled. "But still, if what that fox in my gut told you was true, then I don't really need to worry about my old world. I'm content to live the rest of my life here. I'm Naruto Tenryo, son of Joso and Hikari Tenryo even _if _I'm adopted, and nothing's going to change that."

"I'm just glad you're okay," she said hugging her son once more. "Wait here, I'm going to get something for you," she said before heading to the closet in her room. After unlocking the lockbox with a key she kept in her jewelry case, she unlocked it before pulling something wrapped in brown paper out, then brought it back to the living room. "Here. Everything else won't fit until you're probably grown up, but you should still be able to fit this," she said passing the parcel to her son.

"What is it?" he asked as he unwrapped it, and was then greeted with a silver plate of metal with a leaf signal carved into it with inlaid ink, six bolts holding it into a black headband. "A headband?"

"It's called a hitae-ate, and is the symbol of you being a ninja," Hikari answered. "I just figured since you knew, you should have the right to wear it now."

" . . . Thanks mom," Naruto said before putting it on, letting the sashes flow down past his shoulders. "So, how do I look?" he asked with a grin that resembled a fox's.

"Very cool," Erika sighed, a tinge of pink on her cheeks. Brass chuckled to herself, causing Erika to look away before anyone noticed her blushing.

The next moment, a knocking sound came from the door.

"I'll get it," Naruto said heading to the door. "Hello?" he asked as he opened the door, then looked down to see a white vertically-streamlined medabot with two legs in the front and one at the back, and sky blue trim down its arms and legs. In its hands it held a 3x3x4 foot cardboard box bound with regular tape.

"Hello. You must be Naruto Tenryo/Uzumaki correct?" the medabot asked. "I have a delivery for you from my employer. I hope you find the equipment in it to your liking and specifications," he continued passing the box forward.

"Who's at the door?" Hikari asked.

"Some medabot that says there's a delivery for me," Naruto said looking at the crate. It had a black medal-shaped outline, and on the inside was a stylized **NME **emblem fitted to the confines of the space.

When Naruto opened the box after peeling off the tape, his jaw dropped when he saw that the box was filled with ninja tools. Inside were shuriken, a few kunai, some smoke bombs, a couple books, a line of ninja wire, and even a set of ninja sandals.

"Wow, thanks," he said looking at all the shiny new ninja tools. "Ah! Wait, how did you know my name?" he suddenly asked.

"That's not for me to say," the medabot said giving a mock salute before stepping out from under the awning. "Ciao."

The next moment his arms and legs folded inward, the medabot forming a rocket shape before he suddenly took off into the sky, nothing more than a dot a few seconds later. When Naruto looked down, he was surprised to see that there wasn't a huge scorch mark on the front steps like there would've been from a rocket of all things.

"Woah…" Naruto gaped as he looked up, then dumbly closed the door behind him before walking back into the living room, the box still in his hands.

"Who's the package from?" Spyke asked.

"There's no return address, and the medabot who delivered it just launched himself into the stratosphere," Naruto said as he began removing its contents, everyone's eyes widening as the blond pulled out a cashe of ninja stars, knives, and various pellets held in individual foam casings or jars.

"Hey, there's a note in the bottom," Metabee said once Naruto had pulled all the stuff out.

**Dear Naruto Tenryo,**

** Since you are reading this, I'm guessing you've realized just **_**who **_**you really are. Since a ninja without his tools isn't really a ninja at all, or at least not _much _of one, I figured I'd offer you some until you're old enough to get your own. For obvious reasons, I can't leave you any exploding tags, but I was able to give you enough kunai and shuriken to hold you until then. I also included some ninja wire and a special cutter, both of which you should be careful with.**

**The sandals should be in your size, and I've included the paperwork for you to patent the sandal design, should you want to make some money off them. The material makes them plenty durable, so you should be able to last you until you need them resized.**

**The book contains a few ninja basics like trap setting, stealth, and recipes for making soldier pills, though I'm afraid I can't give you any jutsu. It'd just cause unrest that you'd rather not want a part of. Besides, your body is no longer designed for mass jutsu use, so for all intents and purposes, your "power level" will be that of a boy your age and weight who engages in regular exercise.**

**Anyway, good luck in all that you do, and I hope things don't get **_**too **_**weird. Or at least not in a world where children can purchase robots that can level an office building with pocket change.**

**Sincerely, Onii-San**

"Onii-who?" Sloan asked.

"It means big brother," Erika said looking at the tools set out on the table. "Still, how'd he know about all this?" she wondered aloud.

"Wait, there's more," Metabee said as he got back to the note.

**P.S.  
The box and note will self destruct in five seconds after the note is read, so I'd advice stepping away before then.**

"Gyaah!" Metabee cried as he crumbled up the note and tossed it in the box before passing it to Spyke. "Well? Get rid of it!"

"Right!" Spyke cried as he grabbed the box and ran out the back door. A moment later, a low boom and a flash of light were heard and seen. After a few seconds, a soot-covered Spyke trudged back into the living room.

"You know, I never noticed before, but Spyke's hair looks like a bomb went off in his face," Erika mused, wondering if that would make for an interesting story.

* * *

**Naruto's past has been revealed, and a mysterious benefactor leaves him a set of ninja tools. How will things change?**_** Will**_** they change? Who can say?**

**You'll have to continue reading to find out on… Naruto Tenryo!**

**More Medabots. More Power.**


	12. The Mystery Medabot: Rokusho

It was a couple days after the fateful robattle tournament that had turned Naruto's life completely upside down, yet at the same time made it more complete than it had been in years. Because the package afterwards was hand-delivered, there was no way to trace where the package came from, and nothing to hint its origin. Especially after the note and box had self-destructed. There were also no engravings on any of the ninja tools, and the books had no named author or publisher either. Only the title, table of contents, and the... contents.

Anyway, at the moment it was raining cats and dogs. Naruto, Erika, Metabee, and Brass had gone into town to do some errands, but on the way home, it started raining out of nowhere. Their only alternative to save themselves from getting completely drenched were to buy some cheap umbrellas at the dollar store.

Long story short. Money better not spent.

"Come on! Hurry!" Erika called as she and Brass ran across a bridge, Naruto and Metabee following behind them.

"We're hurrying!" Metabee said back.

"Well hurry faster!" Erika said back.

"Ms. Erika, I don't really think that's possible," Brass said as wall after wall of water buffered against her chassis.

"You've got that right," Naruto grumbled as his umbrella was turned inside-out by the gale-force winds. Quickly taking out a set of green-armored white-rimmed goggles that had been amongst his _original _belongings and putting them over his eyes, he pressed forward grabbed onto Erika's arm before she could be pushed back. Said goggles he now kept around his neck, while he was still debating whether or not to begin wearing his hitae-ate on a daily basis.

The next moment a little girl's shriek rung through the air, Naruto and Erika turning to the bottom of the hill to see a girl half their ages at least barely holding an umbrella against the wind. At the water's edge was a small brown-furred dog, just barely holding on.

"Naruto! That dog's about to slip!" Erika said as she ran down the hill, Brass right behind her.

Right as Naruto and Metabee got to the bottom of the hill however, the dog was suddenly swept into the current.

"Ginger! Oh, help! Oh, help!" the little girl cried as she ran as fast as her little legs would carry her, her dog eventually coming to rest on a log propped against two posts in the river, though that itself wouldn't' hold for long. "Ginger! Come back!"

The next moment the little girl's foot slipped on the wet grass, and was about to get swept into the river as well, had Naruto not leapt forward and caught her.

"Ginger! He can't swim!" the girl cried.

"Naruto! Transport my water legs! It's the only way!" Metabee ordered.

"There isn't any time!" Naruto shouted back. _Man, it would only take 1% of who I originally was to just go out there and get the dog, but right now all I am is an average ten year-old, _he growled to himself.

The next moment _exactly_, the log that the dog had been holding onto was suddenly swept down the stream and out of reach, the girl crying out as her umbrella was sent flying.

**Cue Rokusho's Samurai Theme (not sure if it has a name)**

However, before Naruto could jump in and try to get the dog back, despite the dangers involged, a kuwagata-style beetle medabot colored silver and dark blue with gold decoration and red eyes suddenly jumped down from the bridge they'd just passed and onto a piece of driftwood. Then, with super-human, or super-medabot reflexes, the medabot began leaping from one piece of driftwood onto another until he landed on a 2x4, then started surfing upstream and scooped the flailing dog out of the water.

A moment later he leapt onto the riverbank a few feet by them in a crouch, lifting his cloak to reveal a soggy but uninjured and undrowned Ginger.

"Ginger! Don't worry, you're okay now!" the little girl said as she ran up to her dog, who started licking her cheek as the mystery medabot resumed full height. Which all in all wasn't really that tall. "Thanks Mr. Medabot," the girl said in gratitude.

"No thanks are necessary. All life is precious and worthy of protection," he said reverently, like a monk, or a nomad.

"Wait," Metabee said as he stepped forward, Erika keeping her camera on.

"Yes?" the medabot asked.

"Those were some pretty nice moves, pal. The name's Metabee," he greeted. "How about you. What's your name?"

"My name… is of no importance," he answered after a moment, before his red optics turned to the blond behind him. "Though if I may be so bold, might I ask _your _name?" he asked turning his head toward Naruto.

"Naruto Tenryo," the blond answered, ignoring the, _"Oh so you ask his name but won't give yours," _from Metabee.

"Not your adopted name. Your _real _name," the medabot stated, catching Erika and Metabee off guard.

" . . . Its Uzumaki… Naruto Uzumaki…" the blond answered.

_How does this guy know Naruto's secret? _Erika asked.

"Hmmm… A name of shinobi descent. I see," the medabot stated. "I felt as though you weren't all that you seemed."

"Well, you've certainly nailed _that _nail on the head," the blond sighed.

The next moment the mystery medabot disappeared in a blur of vertical lines, causing Metabee to cry out at how the mystery medabot was unwilling to give his name, but then blatantly asked Naruto _his_.

_Shunshin? No, it was just speed alone, _Naruto though. The next moment, memories of how to _perform _the shunshin came back to his mind. _Too bad my chakra pool's practically nonexistent. Oh well. I suppose I could still use it in tiny bursts. At least until I increase my chakra pool that is. If I _can _anyway._

* * *

The next day after the events of that rainy day had transpired, Naruto, Erika, Metabee, and Brass were taking about the "Mystery Medabot" that seemingly blew in on the storm, and how he might not have had a medafighter at _all_. Though mainly because Erika had the "exclusive".

At that moment, Naruto and Erika were looking over the footage that the latter had been able to obtain on the mystery medabot. She stated how his reflexes must've been super-engineered, and that what he did yesterday, he did without a medafighter.

"I mean, where does a medabot like him _come _from?" Erika asked.

"Junkyard," Metabee quipped.

"No idea," the blond said ignoring his pouting medabot. "I checked all the catalogues, but didn't find anything on any kuwagata-style beetle-type medabots. I'll tell you _one _thing for sure though, this guy's the real deal."

"Big whoop. So he saved a dog from a little wa-wa," he droned sarcastically. "I could take him on my own just fine."

"Metabee… I'm not really sure you _could _beat him on your own," Naruto said crossing his arms.

"What?" Metabee cried.

"His reflexes far surpass that of any medabot we've encountered so far, and those weapons weren't for show," Naruto explained. "I can just tell… Sumilidon wouldn't stand a chance against him on his own. With Koji, he'd stand a chance of not losing immediately, but this guy… he's like a shinobi in medabot form. Damn near unstoppable."

"Metabee, what's your beef with that guy? He never did anything to _you_," Erika said back.

"Oh _yeah _he did," Metabee growled, remembering the mystery medabot's words.

"_**My name… is of no importance."**_

"Can you believe the _nerve _on that guy? First he blows me off, then tries to have a conversation with my own medafighter behind my back," he growled.

"Technically speaking, wouldn't behind your back be in front of you?" Brass asked. "After all, since a person's back faces backwards, and from that perspective behind _that_ would be forwards, wouldn't it mean having a conversation behind someone's _back _would really mean having a conversation in _front _of that person, since being in front of their back would be behind them?"

" . . . That just blew my mind," Erika stated in awe.

" . . . Lousy show-off medabot," he growled changing positions on his bench and turned away from Brass. _Still, I shouldn't let this get to me too much. So he asked my medafighter's name. Big deal. Maybe I'm just over-thinking things. I mean, it isn't like _he's _a ninja or anything, right? _he asked himself.

* * *

"Nope. Not a single listing resembling your _Mystery Medabot_," Henry said the next day in his shop after looking through the medabot catalogue.

"Not even in the back issues?" Erika asked.

"No. I already checked those. Whoever this guy is, he must be either an early prototype, an undistributed model, or some sort of hand-_made _medabot," Naruto said looking through the older catalogues, only to come up with just as much nothing as Henry did.

"But still, a medabot with no medafighter. Under normal circumstances, no medabot would have enough self-awareness to function on their own," Henry mused. "Then again…" he said as his eyes drifted to Metabee, who was a self-aware as anyone, or any_thing_, could get.

"Listen, if he's not in the catalogues, then he's obviously a factory reject!" Metabee growled with the same attitude he had yesterday, this time after Erika asked him if _he _knew anything. Which, in retrospect, was like expecting a guy in a wheelchair to know every _other _guy in a wheelchair. "I mean just look at his _clothes,_" he ragged on. "The guy's a meda-_bum_!"

"Metabee, aren't you just taking things out of context?" Brass asked. "For all you know, this medabot could be older than all of us put together."

"Oh _I _know what's going on," Erika said smugly. "Metabee's just _jealous_. After all, why _else _would he get upset when we bring him up?"

"Not! Jealous! Kekekekeke!" he growled, then clacked incessantly like a beetle, probably equivalent to a person swearing under their breath.

_Now that I think about it, my past life is probably where I learned all those swear words, _Naruto mused to himself, having _just _made the connection between Metabee's incessant clacking and silent cursing.

"Hey, no need to be ashamed. I mean, if there was someone who was superior to me in _every _single way, I'd be jealous too," Erika said waving her hand at him patronizingly.

"I'm _not _jealous! I just want his powers! That's all!" Metabee growled to himself as he stormed out the store.

_Why do I feel like I've heard someone very conceited and _very_ misguided say something along those lines before?_ Naruto asked himself as he followed, if only to make sure Metabee didn't shoot up a convenience store or an offic building. Or something.

* * *

At the same time across town, a girlish scream ran through the air, Sam and Sloan running up to a mortified Spyke. At the moment, it looked like pretty much _all _his color had been drained away.

"Spyke! What's wrong?" Sam asked running up to him, then looked at what the spiky-haired kid was freaking out about.

"My… My house," Spyke gaped.

"It's a… sundae," Sam stated.

"Yeah. Butterscotch ripple," Sloan stated before he and Sam suddenly wigged out. "Aaaaaah! _Our _houses!" they cried as the split off.

"Aagh! Pinochio!" Sam cried, not realizing it was actually a tengu.

"A ukulele? Aaaw, I wanted a sundae. I can't eat a ukulele, it's too stringy," Sloan shuddered at the sight of his house, which actually wasn't that bad when you looked back at it.

* * *

Later that evening at the Tenryo residence after yet another day of finding nothing about Erika's _Mystery Medabot_, Naruto sat at the dinner table poking at his plate, while his mother sat across from him working to bridge the bit of the gap that had formed between them after his origin came to light. At the same time, Metabee sat in the living room and was watching the TV, which was now on the news channel.

"**Meanwhile, some startling new housing developments are popping up in the city. Dozens of locals return to their homes expecting to find them repaired, but instead they have been completely re-built into bizarre shapes like ice cream cones, Buddhas, or those big stone heads from Easter Island,"** the news reporter read out as images of several wacked-out houses came on the screen. **"And it's all thanks to a mysterious group known as the Neo-Preen Home Fix-It Team, and in one related story, one construction worker said at best-"**

"The Rubberobos?" Naruto gaped as the four "main guy's" images came up in the screen, though they seemed to be decked out in priestal wear. "What do _they _know about fixing houses?"

"From what I hear, they're actually pretty good," Hikari said as she fiddled with her chopsticks. "And our house _could _use a new look don't you think?"

"Come again?" the adopted blond gaped.

"I mean I wouldn't want something like an ice cream cone or a stone head," she said looking at the TV screen. "But if we could get a nice design… How would you feel about living in a_ tulip_ house?"

"Forget it mom! Don't you know what those guys _did _the _last_ time we ran into them!" Naruto argued.

"No. What happened?" she asked innocently, her head tilted to the side.

"Nevermind," he sighed. It wasn't any use dredging up the past anyway. She probably didn't remember everything, sans him making a couple dozen copies of himself.

That morning he'd tried making a copy after concentrating for twenty minutes, only to come up with a half-dead semi-transparent version of himself what waved around like a drunkard with a debilitating head injury.

In short: It sucked. Eggs.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Naruto said as he and Metabee walked to school the next morning. "Why does my mom have to act so weird?"

"Like _you're _one to talk. You're from a whole 'nother _universe_," Metabee retorted.

"Touche," the blond sighed. Since that had come out into the open, he'd been able to recall _some _things, but mostly information. Nothing on names or faces, which for him was probably for the best. It wasn't like he'd ever be going back anyway.

"Naruto, good morning!" Erika called out as she ran up to the blond ex-shinobi.

"Oh, good morning Erika," Naruto greeted.

"Hey, did you hear about what the Rubberobo Gang's been doing around town?" she asked.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Apparently my mom doesn't remember it's _them _who made me go ballistic, or that one of them gave her that head injury," Naruto groaned. "I'm just glad there wasn't any permanent damage."

"I know… So, how're you coming to terms? With what you learned I mean?" she asked as they turned a corner, she and Naruto heading towards school while Metabee walked over to the mystery medabot, who at the moment was sunbathing on top of a shed in an empty consturuction yard.

* * *

Later when the two arrived at school, news had reached Naruto and Erika about how Sam, Spyke, and Sloan's housed had been "Robo-Reno'd". Though mainly because they came running and screaming at them in the first place.

As for Metabee not making it to school with them, such wasn't an uncommon occurrence, since he still had the tendency to run around and do his own thing.

That aside, as Naruto tried to console the three, who looked up to _him _as a sort of leader after he decked the Baron _-who hadn't been seen at school since that accident by the way-_, Erika just watched on in amusement while marveling at the developments in their lives. The Screws were still delinquents as far as the school was concerned, but it wasn't like they were thugs anymore, and she didn't have to look over her shoulder since the Baron had stopped going to school. That coupled with Naruto being in sense, a re-born shinobi from another world with only some memories left. Well, she giggled to herself at how absurd it would sound to anyone else.

"A sundae! A freaking_ sundae_!" Spyke cried as she shook Naruto back and forth, only to get slapped across the back of the head by Sam.

"You think _you've _got it bad? My house got turned into Pinocchio's _head_!" Sam cried back after she jerked him away from Naruto.

"Ukuleles are too stringy," Sloan groaned sadly.

"O…kay…" Naruto said turning away from the three, though mostly Sloan who didn't make that much sense about anything to begin with.

The next moment, the school's intercom system suddenly blared.

"**Naruto Tenryo. Naruto Tenryo. Please report to the office. You have an urgent phone call from your mother."**

"Oh don't tell me…" Naruto groaned as he ran up to the office, leaving The Screws Behind while Erika followed him up to the office.

* * *

"**I'm going to go with the tulip house," **were the words Naruto heard from the phone's speaker when he got to the office.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" the blond cried out, garnering the attention of everyone working the office.

"**Naruto, what's wrong?" **Hikari asked. **"Oh, I understand. You'd rather our house be a **_**different **_**flower. Well I've got the catalogue right here. How about a sunflowed? It'd be yellow just like Metabee. You like yellow things don't you?"**

"Mom! Listen to me very carefully! Don't let those rubber-heads anywhere near our house! Keep them as far away as physically possible!" Naruto cried in panic.

"**How about something a bit more… **_**fun**_**?" **she asked causing Naruto to slap his forehead. **"Like maybe a clown-head house. I'm very flexible you know."**

"No! No makeover! Tell them to wait! I'm heading home right now! Don't let them touch our house!" he said running out of the office, leaving Erika to hang up the phone before running off after the blond.

When the two ran out the doors, The Screws ran alongside Naruto as he made his way to the gate and asked Erika why the sudden rush.

When she told them _Naruto's _house was about to get "Robo-Reno'd", the trio's response was.

"Naruto! Don't let them touch your house!" the three cried in panic as the two barreled through the school gate and back to the residential district.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, Naruto had run to the abandoned construction yard and had found the mystery medabot sunbathing and watching the trains go by. After leaping down, the yellow-colored beetle confronted his silver-colored counterpart.

"So, what's your name?" Metabee asked.

"My name… is of no importance," was the answer he got.

"Hey! What gives?" Metabee cried. "For the last time. What's your name?"

"Look down there," the medabot instructed, Naruto's gaze turning to a trio of ants breaking down a moth.

"That? It's just a bunch of ants. Eatin' lunch.

"Look closer."

"_Why_?"

"I love insects. Do you know why?" the medabot asked.

_Because you're based _off _one? _Metabee said to himself.

"Their world is like a miniature version of our own. Every ant colony is a tiny civilization. Insects create perfect worlds for themselves," he explained as he held an ant on the end of his finger. "You can see their beauty if you take the time to look. Watching these ants build their world brings me great peace."

"Alright Confucious, philosophy class is over," Metabee butted in. "You don't want to give out your name? How about we robattle? If I win, then you tell me."

"And if you lose?" he asked.

"Hu-what? I'm not going to lose! There isn't a medabot in _town _that's been able to defeat me!" Metabee said confidently. "Besides, I bet you're nothing but fast moves and fast talk. You probably can't robattle at _all_."

"I can robattle, but I prefer to live peacefully," the medabot said standing to full height, which wasn't that much taller than metabee if you count their horns. "Besides. Where's your medafighter? You can't robattle without _him_."

"Naruto? Tch. I don't _need _him to robattle you. I can take you on my own, believe it!" Metabee said confidently, jabbing his thumb at himself.

"I sense doubt in your tone," the medabot stated. "I can also sense you are more proud of him than you let on, as well as that there is more to him than meets the eye."

" . . . Yeah… well… he _is_ pretty cool I guess," Metabee found himself admitting, rubbing the back of his head. Naruto could've just as easily been the kind of guy to treat his medabot like an object, or some mindless machine. But he didn't. He treated him like a friend.

With those words exchanged, the two simply stood across from one another. Then,

"My name is… Rokusho," the now-known medabot said as he walked past Metabee.

"Rokusho… Hey! Come back!" he said looking over his shoulder, finding Rokusho already past the barbed wire fence.

"There's more to being a medabot than winning robattles. Remember that," Rokusho stated before disappearing, via what Naruto described as shunshin.

"The more I see that guy, the less I understand him," he said to himself before a familiar blond and brunette ran by.

"Metabee! There you are! Where've you been all day?" Naruto asked as he ran up to the fence.

"Uh, right here. Sunbathing. Watching the trains. The bugs," he answered.

"Well you can do that later!" Naruto cried in visible panic. "The Rubberobos are at our house probably drafting new blueprints and floorplans as we speak!"

"Noooo! Not the tulip!" the beetle medabot cried as he broke out into a run after his medafighter.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the Tenryo residence, a small troop of rubberobos with braided headbands, work pants, and boots sat around the house while Hikari continued to look over the house catalogue. It was at that time that Seaslug asked if the woman had come to a decision yet. Her's was the first time she actually _wanted _their house to be completely redone.

"Oh it's so hard to choose, they're all so nice," Hikari answered when asked if she was ready. "I haven't quite decided just yet. Can you give me a few more minutes. Hmmmm…"

"Ma'am, we already gave the gift to the Home Improvement God," Gillgirl said, referring to Foxuno, who for some reason gave of enough of that "godly" vibe that people could mistake a common medabot for a "god". "Mind if we just pick a design for you? It would really speed things up."

"Yeah. We're way behind schedule," Squidguts added in. "We shoulda renovated a whole city _block _by now."

"I can't take it anymore!" Seaslug cried out in a frenzy. "_We'll _just settle on the design! Foxuno! Tear the _roof _off this sucker!" he ordered.

"Forget about it," Naruto said coming to the backyard, slightly panting after all the running.

"_You _again?" the rubberobos cried out.

"First off, I _live _here!" Naruto growled in response to their attitude. "Second, don't go anywhere _near _this house!"

"Yeah! You wanna do a Robo-Reno, you'll have to go through us first!" Erika said.

"It's those meddling kids!" Shrimplips cried.

"Once again, I LIVE HERE!" Naruto growled, unconsciously using the Big Head Jutsu. "That aside, what do you have to gain changing all the houses in town into weird shapes?"

"We're building an evil _theme _park, Rubberobo Land," Gillgirl answered.

"Rubber…obo Land?" Naruto deadpanned.

"But why?" Erika asked.

"Because conquering the _world _should be fun for the whole _family_!" Seaslug cackled.

"Well not _my _family!" Naruto growled as he brought up his medawatch. "Transfer Medapart: Flexorsword!" he called out as he pressed the button on his medawatch, Metabee's right arm glowing before his Revolver was suddenly replaced with Sumilidon's Flexorsword.

"So, you wanna decide this medabot to medabot? Fine. Foxuno, get them," Seaslug ordered, the oriental, fox-style medabot stepping forward.

"Oh, Naruto, you'd just _love _this house," Hikari said unintentionally killing the serious mood. "It has a nice _ninja _theme to it," she said with a warm smile.

"Ninja theme huh?..." Naruto contemplated, actually considering letting his house be re-done if he had enough a say in it. "No! No home makeover! Let's robattle!" he said straightening his priorities, a flurry of red and white rice cakes suddenly falling from the sky, causing them to look up.

"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee, having somehow gotten onto the roof, announced drawing everyone's attention.

"What in the world is he _doing_?" Naruto asked as the moustachioed man continued to throw stuff onto the yard.

"And how'd he even _get _up there?" Metabee asked.

"It looks like he's throwing rice cakes," Erika said picking one up.

"That's what we _do _in Japan when someone is building a house," Mr. Referee answered. "It's tradition. Don't you kids know that?"

"We aren't _building _ a house!" Naruto cried.

"Oh, my mistake then," Mr. Referee said with a sweatdrop on his right temple. "I officially declare a submission robattle between Metabee and Foxuno. Medafighters ready? Medabots… Robattle!" he said bringing his hand down.

"Alright! Let's start this robattle _Right_! Laser Cannon!" he shouted firing a hail of bullets from his left arm, only for the attacks to bounce off of Foxuno's armor. The next moment, the fox medabot used a gravity attack from its chassis, rising into the air as it lifted Metabee into the air before dropping him to the ground on his back.

"Foxuno! Use your sword!" Seaslug shouted, the fox medabot diving towards Metabee with its sword drawn.

"Metabee! Intercept with your Flexorsword!" Naruto shouted.

"You got it!" Metabee shouted as he raised his right arm and caught Foxuno's dual blades between his three, then caught the other two between the barrels on his left arm.

Meanwhile on the roof, Mr. Referee watched the match with interest before he suddenly felt someone land beside him.

"Who the heck are you?" Mr. Referee asked as Rokusho suddenly appeared via shunshin.

"My name is of no importance."

"Oh, is that French?" Mr. Referee asked, though Rokusho was more focused on the match.

At the moment Metabee and Foxuno were locked into a stalemate, Rokusho was about to tell Metabee to fire his missiles through the opening, had Naruto not done so himself.

Fortunately, the blond did, bringing an invisible smile to the lone medabot's faceplate.

"Metabee! He's wide open! Fire your missiles!" Naruto shouted.

"You got it!" Metabee shouted as he lowered his head at his opponent. "Missile Launch!" he shouted as he fired his missiles at Foxuno, point-blank range and blanketing the yard in a thick smokescreen.

However for some reason, Hikari was totally unfazed by all that was going on, and had been looking through the house catalogue the entire time.

"Kiss your bot goodbye," Metabee chuckled as Foxuno dropped like a stone in the yard. "Dude. Heheh. I rock."

A moment later, Mr. Referee leapt down from the roof and landed by the smoking medabot. "Function ceased. The winner is, Metabee!"

"Yeah! We won!" Naruto cheered.

"It's been decided," Erika also cheered.

"No, no, I _haven't _decided quite yet," Hikari said as she leafed through the catalogue.

"Awwww, we lost," Squidguts groaned.

"How can we build a theme park dedicated to badness without Foxuno?" Gillgirl asked.

"Rubberobos, I think it's time to run away in disgrace," Shrimplips finished.

A few seconds later, the entirety of the present Rubberobo gang ran down the street, the "main guys" screaming, "We'll get you next time!"

"Why on Earth are those guys… so weird?" Naruto asked as the rubber-wearing freaks disappeared into the sunset, er- down the street.

At the same time, Metabee looked to the roof and saw the cloaked figure of Rokusho.

"Hey, how'd you like my moves? Pretty good huh?"

"Yes. That was a good robattle."

"Thanks. But, I thought you didn't _like _robattles."

"Not really, but they're still fun to watch," he quipped, drawing Erika's attention, only for him to disappear once more via shunshin.

"Awww man, he got away," Erika sighed.

"Oh well, there's always next time," Naruto said putting his hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Thanks Naruto," Erika said with a smile.

"Hey, look, they left Foxuno behind," the blond suddenly said kneeling next to the downed medabot from before. "They even left its medal too," he said picking up the Stag Beetle medal. "Now if only I could find the, ah! There it is!" he said picking up the white watch. "This all seems oddly convenient," he said looking between the three object.

"Oi oi oi oi! Don't think you can just replace me!" Metabee growled.

"I'm _not_. I just thought it would be good to have another medabot around," Naruto stated with crossed arms, then picked the downed medabot up from the ground and stuck its medal into the medawatch. "Hey mom, I have an early mother's day present for you," he said holding out the unconscious medabot out to her.

"Oh Naruto, that's so sweet, but I'm not really _into _robattles," she said looking up from the catalogue, until something in her suddenly snapped. "Wait a minute! One of those rubber-wearing freaks hit me across the temple with a rock!" she suddenly shouted in indignant fury. "Where are they? Where did those rubber-wearing creeps go?"

_Huh. I thought she'd forgotten, _Naruto said to himself. "That aside, glad you remember, but medabots aren't _only _for robattle. If you want, Foxuno can help you around the house, or when you go to the grocery store. I see plenty of people do it all the time."

"Oh really?" she said taking the watch and setting the medabot on the back porch. "Well I can't really turn down a gift from my son, but how do I turn her on?"

"_Her_?" Metabee asked.

"Woman's intuition," she stated.

"Uh… that aside, you just take the medal from the medawatch and place it in the slot in… _her_, back," Naruto stated pointing to the medawatch in his mom's hand.

"Well… Here goes then," she said pressing the button that lifted Foxuno's medal plate. "Let's go Foxuno," she said setting the medal into the medabot's back, Foxuno suddenly jumping up and looking around. "Hi there, my name's Hikari. What's yours?"

"Uh, Mrs. Tenryo, I don't think…"

"Oh, hello. I don't really have a name, but my model name if Foxuno," Foxuno stated in a voice much like Brass', but a bit more casual.

"Never mind," Erika finished.

"Oh, well if you don't have a name, then I guess I'll call you… Kyuubi," Hikari answered, smiling at the memory of the old fox that had in a way dropped Naruto into her arms.

"Kyuubi… I like it," she said in a way that meant she was smiling. Or at least on the inside. "Um, not that I don't appreciate the name, but where are the guys I was just with?" she asked looking around.

"Oh, they ran off after I beat you senseless in a robattle," Metabee said offhandedly, causing Kyuubi's shoulders to slump.

"_Metabee! Can't you show a little more _tact_?" _Naruto said jerking the medabot over to him.

"There there, it's alright," Hikari said patting the medabot's shoulder. "How about I make us some tea, and then we can talk about your feelings?"

" . . . Thanks," Kyuubi said, looking like her eyes were smiling behind her visor.

" . . . You just _had _to give her to your mom didn't you?" Metabee stated.

"Hey, at least my mom has someone to keep her company while I'm at school and dad's at work," Naruto quipped.

"By the way, where _does _your dad work?" Metabee asked as they walked into the house.

"Hmmmm… Now that you mention it, I don't really know," the blond said heading back into the house.

* * *

**Medapart Winnings**

**Medabot "Won" – Foxuno  
Head – Foxarmor  
Left Arm – Rapier  
Right Arm – Fencing  
Legs – Hakama **

* * *

**Will anyone ever find out Rokusho's true identity? Will Naruto ever make a decent Shadow Clone ever again? Will _anyone _ever find out where Naruto's dad works?**

**You'll have to keep reading Naruto Tenryo to find out.**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	13. Phantom Renegade Unmasked?

It was a calm night in Riverview. The sky was mostly clear, the moon was out, and the stars were shining through. As the city lights had dimmed for the evening, who else would be there to watch it all, as well as take the time to _appreciate _it, other than the Mystery Medabot: Rokusho.

"A dark cloud hangs over the city tonight. I can feel it," Rokusho said looking off into the night sky.

"Stop! Thief!" a voice cried, drawing Rokusho's attention to the nearby bridge, where a suspicious figure in a cloak, top hat, and mask who was laughing maniacally was making his getaway.

Following the criminal from above, Rokusho then dropped down in front of him. "This road is closed for criminals."

"Rokusho?"

"How do you know my name? Answer me!" Rokusho ordered, readying his Sword.

"I'd never forget a medabot like _you_. Your eyes _shine _with the glimmer of the rare medal."

"Rare medal. What're you talking about?"

After a few moments of silence, a large round shadow moved over the bridge, a rope ladder falling down into the Renegade's grasp.

"Well, I've got a balloon to catch. It's been a pleasure, Rokusho. Let's get together again, real soon. I'd _love _to take out that rare medal of yours. Nahahahaha," he said placing his foot onto one of the bottom rungs before being hoisted away, out of the Kuwagata medabot's reach.

"My rare medal?" Rokusho pondered, seeing no use in pursuing the criminal any further.

Especially after his face impacted with a steel girder above, sending his mask flying downwards into the riverbed.

"Uuuuugh. I think I broke my head," the Phantom groaned holding his head, the shadows cast by the night sky continuing to hide his identity.

* * *

The next day at the 24 Hop Mart, Henry sat outside reading a newspaper article concerning the Phantom Renegade and a Medabot Museum. A moment later he nearly jumped out of his seat when Erika just came out of nowhere and focused a new lens right at him.

"Woah! Wh-wh-what do you think you're _doing _Erika!"

"Working. On the scoop of the century," the brunette answered, causing Henry to wonder what exactly. "Convenience Store Clerk Blamed for Economic Slump: Caught Slacking Off During Work Hours. Pretty good eh?"

"I'm on a break. Now beat it will ya?" he asked turning back to his newspaper. "I'm trying to finish this article on the Phantom Renegade."

"Wow! No way!" she awed taking the newspaper out of the clerk's hands. "Phantom Renegade Strikes Again. Says he snuck through a state-of-the-art security system at the medabot museum, _and _he got away with the medal. Cool!"

"Yeah, this Phantom Renegade's pretty cool don't you think?"

"Oh sure. Especially to a junior investigative journalist like myself," the brunette answered, then noticed something right on the nose… er- forehead. "Henry, what happened? What did you do to your forehead?"

"Uh, what, this? Haha. Oh I just. I uh. Cut it myself. Shaving. My uh, eyebrows. Huhuhuhuhu," Henry said in multiple sentence fragment.

"Morning guys. How's it going?" Naruto asked walking up to the two.

"Oh, morning Naruto. You here for some more window shopping?" Henry asked.

"Naruto, what happened to your forehead? Did you cut yourself shaving too?" Erika asked.

"Well, uh, don't really know where _that _came from, but I'd rather not talk about it," Naruto sighed covering the bandage on his forehead with his bangs, only for them to come straight up all over again. "Okay fine. I slipped on a bar of soap and hit my head on the bathtup," he groaned at the failed attempt of hiding his injury. "Just don't tell anyone about it alright? I don't need that kind of publicity."

Erika and Brass however giggled at his tale, though Erika composed herself first.

"Oh yeah. Real mature to laugh at the injured," Naruto deadpanned.

"Well, hahaha, at least you didn't, heheh, cut yourself shaving your unibrow," Brass chuckled.

"Who has one of _those_?" Naruto questioned.

"Why He-" Erika started, only for the clerk to clap a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sure they don't want to hear stuff like that. Anyway, I've got to get back to work. Break ending and all," Henry said heading back into the store, suddenly acting very self-conscious about his forehead.

"What's _his _deal?" Naruto asked.

"Don't know," Erika feigned. "Anyway, any luck practicing with your ninja tools?"

"Not really. Still trying to find an inconspicuous place to practice," the blond answered.

* * *

A while later after talking about everyday stuff between the two ten year-olds, a pudgy guy with a moustache and a Chameleon-Style medabot suddenly came along taking pictures all around the neighborhood. Out of curiosity, the two opened up their ears and listened in on their conversation.

"Master. When are we going to find the Phantom Renegade?" a green and purple chameleon-style medabot asked. "All we've been doing is taking pictures around the neighborhood."

"Ye little bug-eyed fool, are you actually questioning the genius of Seamus MacRaker? You know the Phantom ran off in this direction last night, don't ye?" he said before taking out what was probably a photo. "See this? The Phantom hit his head on a girder while he was getting away. I bet'cha it left a mark bigger than the space where your _brain _should be. So once we find a person with a bruise on their head, we'll find the Phantom."

"Well master, you're so sharp, your sharper than those _knives _we used to sell door to door," the chameleon medabot complimented.

"You bet'cha, cause I'm Seamus MacRaker: Ace Photo Journalest! I'm the man who put the _lie _in liable. The _back _in backbiting. The _rat _in paparatzi. Aha. Hahahahaha."

A moment later, the man turned towards them, then rushed across the street and seriously violated Naruto's personal space.

"Uh, can I help you?" the blond asked as he suddenly found the man's camera lens pressed against his forehead.

"Say laddie, why don't you tell me what you're covering up with that bandage," the man known as Seamus questioned.

"I'd rather not," the blond stated evenly, not liking how this guy was blatantly invading his personal space. "An adult! I need an adult!" he suddenly cried out, causing the man to look up and around them, only to see that no one had heard the blond's cry. "Lousy next-to-nothing foot traffic," the blond grumbled to himself.

"Ah, so you're hidin' somethin' aren't ya? Why else would you call for help?" Seamus asked.

"Because you're violating my personal space," Naruto grumbled. _And you smell bad._

"Hmmm… A bump on his head… Something he's trying to hide… I knew it! You're the Phantom Renegade!" the man suddenly accused.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked.

"Don't play games with _me _Renegade. Your identity is secret no longer," the man said with his hands on his hips.

"My master can sniff out anyone, but don't try to sniff around him too much, because he's got this thing where he-"

"Look! I told ya I have a problem with me sweat glands! I'm going to see a specialist next Tuesday! Can't you keep your mouth shut 'til _then_?" the man interrupted his medabot.

"Excuse me, but you can't go around accusing my friend like that!" Erika growled defensively, trying to remain civil.

"That's right! And besides! I've never committed a crime in my entire life!" Naruto growled back.

"Oi, nice try Phantom, but that big bandaged _bruise _on your forehead is all the proof this reporter _needs_! Plust that _medabot _you got over there!" Seamus acused pointing a finger at Naruto's forehead, who at the moment was wishing he'd worn his headband that morning.

"Who me?" the medabot in question asked.

"Here, look at this."

"What'd I do? Who's that?"

"Let's see… The Phantom Renegade was last seen on the East Side Bridge. He was fleeing the scene of the crime with his medabot companion," Naruto read.

"And in the process you hit your head. Right where you've got that bruise," the man accused, once again.

"Hey! You're a reporter for The National Intruder!" Erika growled seeing the name on the paper.

"Mmmhmm. That's right lassie," the man said with a grin.

"Pretty good for a guy who lives at home in his mom and dad's basement, don't you think?"

"Hey! I like the view alright!" he argued.

"The National Intruder? You mean that tabloid trash my mom told me to never read, _or _buy?" Naruto asked recognizing the name.

"The absolute worst. They'll print _anything _to sell papers. They take _real _stories, like Bigfoot, and then _totally _blow them out of proportion, with headlines like Bigfoot Marries Loch Ness Monster," Erika explained.

_Uh, I'm sorry, I must've heard that wrong. I think I had something funky in my ear, _Naruto said picking his ear after the word Bigfoot left Erika's mouth.

"_Really_? I thought _Yetsie _was more his type," Metabee stated, getting a strange look from Naruto. "What? Just because _you _can't read The National Intruder, doesn't mean _I _can't."

_My medabot is a complete loon, _Naruto groaned to himself.

"Metabee, that paper's trash! It's chock full of the greasiest trash to ever grace the supermarket checkout counter!" Erika argued.

"_Really_? Accordin' to who?"

"According to me, Erika Amazaki! I happen to be an award-winning newspaper journalist!"

"A school _newspaper_? And you're telling me the paper _I _write for is trash," the man said offhandedly.

"Well… I… just…"

"Take a look at this, look at _my _files. _These _are _years _of undercover research on the Phantom Renegade," Seamus said suddenly pulling out seven thick volumes of information set in binders. "What do you have to say _now _lass? Still think I'm a hack reporter?"

"Where'd that all come from?" Naruto asked as the man suddenly brought out seven thick binders full of evidence out of nowhere.

* * *

The next day at school during Gym Class, Naruto mulled over the… chat they had with that Seamus guy. Apparently, the Phantom Renegade had been running around for _years_, ever since the Ten Days of Darkness, and had been stealing medals classified as _Rare _Medals. Medals said to contain special powers, which could supposedly rule the world.

Of course, Naruto was skeptical about that. It wasn't like they were ancient artifacts from an ancient civilization were they?

Anyway, as Naruto ran alongside Erika, even though he could've smoke the entire class, he asked her if maybe Seamus was onto something with his talk about the Phantom taking medals that could supposedly rule the world. Erika in return said he was just making up a story to sell papers, and that medabots taking over the world just wasn't possible.

That however caused Naruto to think back on the Ten Days of Darkness around the time of his 'rebirth', and how medabots had indeed _come _close to taking over the world. Of course, he had no recollection of it, except maybe some screaming and the fires, but he decided not to cause any undue distress to Erika over it.

Later when they looked over the photos in the newspaper, Erika pointed out very blatantly that the camera wasn't in focus at all, and that the two blobs on the picture could've been _anyone_. Especailly after the last Loch Ness Monster sighting was just a log with a Halloween mask tied to it.

That of course was only found out after someone shot a harpoon into it and dragged it out to dry land.

While all this was going on, Naruto had the weirdest feeling that someone was watching them. It could've just as well been Seamus, but the guy wasn't crazy enough to stalk a ten year-old and call him the Phantom. Right?

Of course, Metabee shared the same sentiment about the feeling of them being watched, though that was a given since Metabee was a highly sophisticated machine, capable of thinking at and beyond the level of the average human.

Then after school, Erika decided that they would hunt down the Phantom themselves, saying they wouldn't get "scooped by a scandal scribbler".

At the same time, Naruto thought he smelled _something _weird, though Metabee said it was probably trouble, as well as "Hoo weeee!"

Of course, that was just Seamus tailing them in a trash can disguise, and for some reason Multikolor was carrying a hollowed out lamp post, even though he didn't really _need_ a disguise.

* * *

Later that evening as Naruto and Metabee slept, Multikolor snuck in through the window, camera ready to take some incriminating evidence of Naruto, AKA, the -_supposed_- Phantom Renegade.

However, before he could take even _one _picture, Metabee suddenly rolled over on the bed, sending Multikolor to the ground. It seemed thought, that Naruto and Metabee were heavy sleepers, because Multikolor's face hitting the hardwood made a pretty loud racket.

As the downed medabot got himself off the floor, he nearly screeched when the blond suddenly got up from his bed, though the light snoring indicated that he was sleepwalking. The next moment however, the blond kid suddenly formed a cross sign with his hands, and four copies of himself formed out of thin air around him. After blinking a few times to make sure his eyes were functioning properly, he wasn't prepared for when four of the copies suddenly surrounded him and all kicked him in the head simultaneously, the fifth suddenly leaping into the air and axe-kicking his head.

"U-zu-ma-ki… _*snore* _Naruto Barrage…" the five Naruto's sleep-talked as they all beat the stuffing out of the chameleon medabot. When said medabot finally hit the ground again, _once _again not waking the two up, the four blonds suddenly disappeared in puffs of smoke before the original rolled back into the bed.

_Thanks goodness _that's _over, _Multikolor thought as he got up.

"Attack mode Metabee… use your laser cannons on him," the blond then droned in his sleep, the sleeping Kabuto-style medabot getting up from the bed and aiming his left arm at the would-be intruder in his sleep.

"Firing… laser cannon," he said before opening fire on the medabot like crazy, his screams falling on deaf, and sleeping, ears. Especially the weak _"I had that coming," _he muttered before crawling out the window and into the backyard, where Seamus was waiting for him.

"Oi, Multikolor, what happened in there? Did you get the shot?" Seamus asked.

"Oh I got _shot _all right. Just not the one we were looking for," the medabot groaned, causing Seamus to rub the bridge of his nose while his disoriented medabot got back to his feet. However, after a few seconds, the temperature around them suddenly dropped, and a chill ran up their spines. Slowly turning around, they came face to face with a brown-haired woman with glowing red eyes, a Foxuno model medabot beside her with glowing red eye slats, and swords gleaming in the moonlight.

"What the hell… do you think you're doing… sneaking into… MY SON'S BEDROOM!" Hikari cried a she whipped out her sleeves, a multitude of sharp and/or pointy kitchen knives suddenly whipping out of her sleeves like that crazy chick from Bakemonogatari who used school supplies.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Seamus and Multikolor screamed as Hikari and Kyuubi ran the two off with weapons drawn.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Tenryo residence the next morning, while Naruto asked his mother what that screaming was he heard in the middle of the night with her telling him she was dealing with a couple of _"rats"_, Seamus and Multikolor tended to their wounds at their secret hideout.

Or in layman's terms, a tent in the middle of a wooded area in town.

"Good lord, what _was _that last night? Was it the El Chucacabra?" Multikolor gasped as he began fixing the cut marks across his body, as well as making sure his eyes still worked after that Foxuno medabot tried to gouge his eyes out. A dozen times.

"Naw, the Cupacabra got married to the Yeti last fall," Seamus groaned as he bandaged up. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Actually, hell _does _hath fury like a woman scorned. Who do you think's in _charge _down there?" Multikolor asked.

" . . . When I said it must've been hell in your head, I didn't expect you to take it literally," Seamus groaned. "Anyway, since we haven't gotten any pictures, we'll just have to give the _Phantom _a little _facelift,_" he chuckled as he took out the Phantom's mask, then suddenly pulled Multikolor down into the bushes when a patrol car passed by. "Lousy cops. They're treatin' me like some kinda _criminal_."

* * *

The next morning on the East Side Bridge, Henry walked across the bridge to get to work, his shoulder bag over his shoulder. As he got to the halfway mark, his "shaven" eyebrow raised as he spotted Erika with her video camera, Brass alongside her carrying what looked like a boom mic.

"Hey guys. What'cha doin'?" Henry asked.

"Hello Henry. Nice purse," Brass giggled.

_It's not a purse, it' s a shoulder bag, _Henry groaned to himself.

"We're here on location, doing some electronic news gathering," she answered, since Henry's purse was "old news". "If you see the Phantom Renegade, let us know. Every bit of information helps."

"Hmmm… Something tells me you won't be seeing the Phantom Renegade today," the purse-toting storeclerk answered.

"Huh? Why? Do you know something?" Erika asked.

"What? No. Not really," he answere, blatantly ignoring the topic.

"Look! It's the Phantom Renegade!" a childish-sounding voice said, drawing the trio's attention to the road leading away from the bridge.

"Hahahahaha! Look at me! I'm the Phantom Renegade!" the _Phantom Renegade, _who was really Seamus in a disguise using the original's mask, said as he bounced down the road like the Pillsbury dough boy, Multikolor on his tail.

As Henry slumped his head in shame, Erika had brass lower the boom mic while she brought her camera into focus. A moment later, the _Phantom's _pants ripped quite audibly, and though a description wouldn't be appreciated, they were white briefs with strawberries on them.

Sometimes you have to take the good along with the bad.

"Oopsie!" the _Phantom _chuckled.

"Everybody! The Phantom Renegade just ripped his pants!" Multikolor cackled as he kept the man's… rear flank in focus. _Good thing I brought the _wide-_angle lens, _he thought to himself.

"That's not _all _I let rip."

"Why do _I _have to run downwind?" he asked.

Meanwhile back on the bridge.

"Brass, this is our chance! Come on!" Erika said leading Brass along, the highschool girl-styled medabot bringing the boom mic with her. "Maybe he writes his name on his underwear. Ohhhhh, darn! Why didn't I bring the wide-angle lens?" she asked herself as she chased down the _Phantom Renegade_.

* * *

"Wha-Wha-NOOOO!" Henry cried after getting to work and picking up a newspaper, finding an article that read **Phantom Renegade Rears his Ugly Rear!**, as well as a somewhat disturbing picture of a white set of strawberry-print bries.

"What the heeeeell?" Naruto cried beside him, finding a newspaper with a picture of him, a black bar covering his eyes and the article reading **Local Kid this close to being Arrested**.

"Hey guys, wanna see my paper?" Erika asked running up to the three, Metabee reclining against the magazine rack from the counter. "There's a great article on the Phantom Renegade with full-_color _pictures and everything."

"Erika, while I'm happy that you're happy, I'M NOT IN THE MOOD!" Naruto cried.

"It says the Phantom Renegade runs around showing his underwear," a woman reading the same newspaper said.

"I don't care if he _is _a little kid, he's a menace," another said.

"Hey, take a look, over there," the third said, bringing the two's attention over to Naruto, who's picture was in one of the papers.

"Is it him?"

"He looks dangerous."

"Here's the plan. Just move slowly towards the door and don't turn your back on him," the third said as the three made their way to the door.

"What the- No! I'm not the Phantom Renegade!" Naruto cried as he ran after the three ladies, suddenly coming into a small crowd of people, who were now looking between their papers and him.

However to an ex-shinobi, this was just the setting he needed to move this Phantom business as far away from himself as possible. For the moment at least.

"Look at me! I'm _not _the Phantom!" Naruto cried out. "Do you even _see _a speck of blond in any of these pictures? _Do _you! _I _sure don't!"

"Hmmm… He's got a point there. None of these pictures have blond in them," one woman said looking at her newspaper again.

"Is your hair naturally that color or do you dye it?" another asked. "And are those birthmarks or tattoos."

"First off, this is my natural color. Second, these are birthmarks. They've been there since I remember," Naruto groaned as he headed back into the store. "Also, before you ask, I don't put gel in it. It's just naturally spiky."

Getting the answer they were looking for, the crowd that had gathered around the Hop Mart and heard that conversation began to scatter. A moment later however, Seamus suddenly squeezed out of the crook between two buildings like a rat squeezing out of a hole the size of a quarter.

"_YOU_?" Naruto and Erika growled, pointing their fingers at the guy.

"So, you think you're pretty impressive, don't you think laddie?" Seamus asked with crossed arms.

"Hahahaha. Master can fit into the tightest spot. Provided he's got a shoe horn, and two quarts of grease," Multikolor said suddenly appearing out of thin air.

"It was one quart!" Seamus argued. "Anyway, you might've allayed suspicion for now, but unless you confess right now, I'm going to get _real _nasty, Phantom Renegade!"

"For the hundredth time! I'm not the Phantom! I just have a bump on my forehead!" Naruto argued. "Plus, I think I've just established that I'm blond. BLOND!"

"That's it, I've had enough of this!" Erika said getting in front of Naruto defensively. "I'm going to blow this story wide open and clear Naruto's good name once and for all!" she said before running off.

"Hell yeah! I'm tired of people giving me weird looks!" Naruto said running after her.

"I thought that was just because you're the only blond kid in your age group. Or… Japan," Metabee stated offhandedly as he followed.

"Master, they're trying to get away. Shouldn't we try to catch them?" Multikolor asked the rat-like man.

"No. Why catch them when we can catch a cab," Seamus remarked.

* * *

A few minutes later down the street, while Seamus was at his forest hideout and getting his Phantom Renegade disguise, Erika, Brass, Naruto, and Metabee were all running down the street. As Naruto ran past Erika, one of the payphones nearby them suddenly went off, at the exact moment they passed it.

"A pay phone re_ceiving _a call?" Naruto wondered. "Aren't pay phones usually used for _making _calls?"

" . . . " was Erika's response before she reached for the phone and put it to her ear. "Hello? He-Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?"

"**Why hello… Erika," **the voice on the other end answered, causing the brunette to gasp. **"If you want your scoop, get down to Lotus Park right away. I promise you… you won't be disappointed."**

"What? Lotus Park? Hey, who is this?" Erika demanded.

"**Just call me… Anonymous Tipster," **the voice on the other end of the line said before it went dead.

"The guy said Lotus Park right? Let's go Erika!" Naruto said grabbing the girl's hand and running along, her feet barely having any time to touch the ground. Had the blond looked back, he would've noticed the flustered look on the girl's face before she freed her hand and started running on her own.

At the same time in the back of the formation, Brass could only giggle at Erika's timidness. For a hot-headed girl to be acting so differently brought an invisible smile to the medabot's face.

* * *

Meanwhile at Lotus Park, Seamus was squeezing himself into a set of black pants like the Phantoms, and while he was hiking them up, Multikolor was commenting on how big the man's butt was. At the moment the man fell on his back from trying to get his pants on, Naruto and Erika suddenly jumped through the bushes, a video camera in the latter's hand while they said,

"Busted!"

"For the hundred and _first _time, I'm blond! BLOND!" Naruto growled as he gnashed his teeth.

A few seconds later, the confrontation broke down into petty squabbling as both sides tried to accuse the other of being the Phantom, the word _blond _coming up quite a lot.

"Uuh… What's going on?" Brass asked as the three continued to bicker about who was the Phantom, completely lost about what was going on.

"Is someone going to ad_mit _they're the Phantom or _what_?" Metabee asked.

"I'm even more confused than usual, and after last night's beat-down, that's _sayin' _something," Multikolor groaned.

"Why? What happened last night?" Brass asked.

Meanwhile back with the three humans.

"They say a picture's worth a thousand words, but this one just says _gotch_!" Erika said videotaping Seamus with the Phantom's pants and mask. "Why don't you just turn yourself in?"

"Because I'm not the Phantom!" Sheamus argued, who Naruto was seriously doubting was the Phantom Renegade. Even with those crappy photos, Naruto could tell the reporter was about a dozen pants sizes too large to be him. "Will you stop sayin-"

"Oh no? Then why are you running around dressed _up _like him?" Erika demanded, Naruto holding up the mask for emphasis, though he still doubted the pudgy man in front of them was the real Phantom. "Are you studying to be a mime in your spare time or what?"

"Uh, no, I was just using it to trap _you_," Seamus argued. "Argh! Enough's enough! Let's settle it the old-fashioned way! With a robattle!"

"Then, it's, agreed," Mr. Referee said suddenly coming down from the tree, wearing what looked like some sort of branch-borne cocoon up to his neck. "Medafighters ready?"

"Transport Medaparts!" Naruto said pressing a few buttons on his medawatch, Metabee's arms glowing until his right arm was replaced with the Bombarder, and his left arm was replaced with the Cut Radar.

"Alright medabots… Robattle!" Mr. Referee said bringing his arm down, though caused the cocoon to break down around him and send him to the ground.

"You're mine!" Multikolor growled as he strafed to the right.

"Come on sucka! Let's get meda-busy!" Metabee said as he ran to the left, facing off against his opponent in the park.

"Multikolor, don't stay out in the open. Use your specialty: Camouflage," Seamus ordered.

"Yes master," the medabot said as he disappeared from sight.

"He's gone!" Erika and Brass gasped.

"From the moment I saw him, I knew this was his specialty, and that's why I've prepared accordingly," Naruto explained. "Metabee! Track him with your Cut Radar!"

"You got it! Radar Wave!" Metabee shouted as he drove the point of his arm into the ground, sending out a circle of radio waves in all directions, lines of data passing over his line of sight as his medaparts processed the information. "Naruto! I've got him!" he cried after a few minutes as he tracked Multikolor to the top of the monkey bars.

"Great job Metabee! Now send that bug-eyed freak packing with Bombarder!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh yeah! Missile Barrage!" Metabee shouted bringing his right arm forward and sending a half-dozen missiles flying at the top of the monkey bars, all of them impacting and sending Multikolor to the ground in a smoking heap.

"Function ceased! The winner is, Metabee!" Mr. Referee announced while Seamus cried out in defeat.

"Glad _that _mess is over," a voice said, everyone's eyes going to the treeline, their jaws dropping when they saw the Phantom Renegade. "Don't worry. I was betting on you the whole time."

"So the real Phantom comes out into the light," Naruto said with a relaxed stance, but was willing to act on a moment's notice.

"Oh? So you didn't think _he _was the Phantom?" the Phantom asked.

" . . . He didn't really emulate your… character very well," Naruto stated after looking at Seamus, then back to the Phantom.

"Hey you! Up there! Give me that mask back!" Seamus cried.

"Thank you Naruto. Thank you Erika. Thanks to your efforts, I was able to regain my mask," the Phantom stated. "But don't forget. Someday, I'll be back for your rare medal Naruto. But for now, I've gotta fly."

"What do you mean _rare _medal?" Naruto asked as Erika raised her camera to the Phantom.

"Gotcha! Hey! Where's my film!" Seamus cried when he found his camera empty.

"Hahahahaha! I'll be back for your medal as well, Rokusho," he said passing by the Kuwagata-style medabot.

"Oh really? We'll just see about that," the mystery medabot said with crossed arms.

"Ah, another perfect getaway for the Phantom," he chuckled.

A few moments later into his getaway however, the Phantom suddenly hit his head on a tree branch, his ankle wrapped around the rope ladder as his balloon took him away into the wild blue yonder.

"Ooooogh. Man. I've _really _got to start wearing a helmet," he groaned, thankful he didn't lose his mask again. Of course, it didn't help his getaway that he was hanging upside down by his ankle.

* * *

The next day with Erika's picture, video, and testimony from some of the people who doubted that the resident blond, of Riverview, was the dark-haired Phantom Renegade, as well as the incriminating photo of Seams with the Phantom's mask, as well as a picture of the _real _Phantom, Naruto was cleared of all charges, even though not that many people suspected him after he brought up how he was blond, and the Phantom Renegade had dark hair.

"Well Erika, all's well that ends well," Naruto sighed, since people were no longer giving him strange looks.

"Yep, and all the charges on Naruto have been cleared," Henry added.

"But we still don't know who the Phantom is," Brass stated nervously. "I don't like that talk of him taking our medals either."

"Don't worry Brass. I won't le the Phantom slip through my fingers next time," Erika stated.

"Oh, and Henry. Two words. Unibrow. Wax," Naruto said looking up at the guy now sporting two bandages..

"I'll uh… keep that in mind," Henry sighed.

"And another thing. Ditch the purse. It isn't exactly doing you any favors," Metabee added.

"It's not a purse! It's a _shoulder _bag!" the purse-totting clerk called out.

* * *

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Multikolor  
Legs – Twirl**

* * *

**Will anyone **_**ever **_**find out who the Phantom Renegae really is? Will Seamus MacRacker ever get a clue? Will **_**Henry **_**ever stop shaving his forehead, or at the least, wear a helmet so he doesn't hit his head on stuff?**

**You'll have to continue reading Naruto Tenryo to find out.**

**More Medabots. More Power.**


	14. A Ban on Medabots

"That's pathetic. Take _this_! Missile Launch" Metabee shouted as he let the red rubber prison of compressed air, AKA, the common dodgeball, fly through the air at Erika, only for her to catch it.

"Hey Erika, pass me the red rubber thunder, I wanna try something," Naruto said holding his hand out, the brunette passing the ball to the blond to see just what he had in mind. "Try _this_ on for size!" he said raising his leg straight up like a baseball pitcher. "Rasendan!" he shouted throwing the ball towards Spyke, the red rubber thunder spiraling like a bullet before it hit his gut and sent him to the ground with a low "oof" and a **thud**.

"Ooooogh. I can't feel my face," Spyke groaned as he laid on the ground.

"He hit you in your stomach, not your face," Erika corrected.

"Cyandog… avenge me…" Spyke moaned before feigning death.

_God this is worse than the _Eye of the Tiger _training montage_, Naruto thought to himself. _The guy couldn't even do a single pushup. Given, there was a drum full of sand on his back, but he at least could've done _one_._

"I'll kick your butt for this Naruto Tenryo!" Cyandog growled with a clenched fist.

"Hey now, playgrounds are for playing. Not fighting," Riverview Elementary's principal said walking up to the group, his SAM-Type medabot, Samurai, at his side like the samurai of old beside their feudal lords.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Principal," Naruto greeted. _I still can't believe that's his real name._

"If you need someone to throw the ball at, how about me and Samurai?" the man suggested.

"Are you sure, sir?" Erika asked.

"Maybe she's right principal. What about your bad back and your heart and your-"

"What are you implying Samurai? That I'm too _old _to play dodgeball?" the man demanded cutting his medabot off.

"No offense, but maybe you should play something a little more low impact. Like lawn bowling, or bingo," Erika suggested.

"Erika, I wouldn't go there if I were-" Naruto tried to warn, only for the principal and samurai medabot's glares to shut them up.

"WHAT?" the two demanded, angried than the blond had ever seen them since that transfer student and the noodles.

"Oh… You'll see some low-impact little girl, when the dodge ball's knocking the lights out from under you," Samurai growled, a flaming backdrop appearing behind him out of nowhere. "Principal, let's play ball."

"Alright then, let's play some DODGE BALL!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed the ball. Unlike most kids at school, he didn't have a problem talking with the faculty, especially Coach Mountain after that incident with the Megaphant in the construction yard. He also held some respect for the principal, because not everyone could be in charge of a school full of kids all day and not go totally ballistic.

As the game started and the times divvied up, little did they know that a horde of wrinkled, bitter old hags were marching towards their own little piece of Riverview to shake things up and make their lives totally miserable.

"What's wrong youngster? Can't keep up with an _antique _medabot?" Samurai asked a few minutes later as he stood across a panting Erika. "I'll let you in on a little secret. In my day I used to play baseball: The Tokyo Medabot Leauge. I was the star pitcher. Back then they called me _Fast_ball Samurai," he told as his eyes glowed with massive eight-pointed gleams, causing Erika to gasp at the energy he was displaying. "Get ready to feel the wrath of my _Hyper_-Charged Mach One Pitch of _Doom_!" he said reeling his arm back, raising his leg much like Naruto had before sending the ball at Erika with a flaming light red contrail screaming behind it as it tore through the air.

Erika dodged to the left, barely getting hit. As Totalizer ran up to intercept it, the ball suddenly nailed him in the gut and sent him flying backwards. After it bounced off and flew into Metabee's hands, he suddenly threw it at Erika while shouting the name of his signature attack, Erika once more dodging it, but fell to the ground, bringing a wry smile to Samurai's faceplate.

"Hmhmhmhm. Say your prayers youngster!" he roared as he leapt at Erika with dodgeball in hand.

The brunette screamed and shielded her face with her hands, only for the ball to bounce lightly off a moment later. "Ow."

"Hmhmhmhm. Is that _low impact _enough for you?" he chuckled.

"Nice shot old man," Metabee complimented.

"Thanks kiddo. Haha. You've got a pretty good arm there yourself. Strong servos," Samurai returned.

"I work out. The ladies _love _Metabee kick," the KBT-Medabot returned, not noticing the far-off look in Brass' eyes.

"You've got style kid. I like that in a medabot."

"I don't get it. How does a medabot like him have such fast moves?" Sam asked, not even her Peppercat being able to escape the medabot's attack.

"SAM-Type medabots only _look_ old. They're still pretty powerful, and their versatile design allows for balanced fighting, or domestic use," Naruto explained.

"Thanks for telling me _now_," Erika sighed, then looked up when Naruto extended his hand to her. Turning away with a slight blush on her face, she took the blond's hand and let herself be pulled to her feet.

She was about to thank him for the help while Metabee and Samurai shook hands, but a set of footsteps from behind suddenly drew her attention, and interrupting the two's conversation.

"Not at _this _school you don't," a diminutive old lady with sagging lips, skin, and horn-rimmed glasses said, a posse of similar old birds standing behind her with scowls on their faces.

"Why Ms. Pimply, I thought the Parent Teacher Organization meeting was tomorrow night," Mr. Principal greeted, while the kids just stepped away from the old prune.

"_This _is an emergency PTO meeting to _deal _with these dangerous medabots," the old hag known as pimply stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "I thought we _banned _them."

"Well, it's after school, so I just thought-"

"The _rules _say no _medabots_, and that _means _no medabots! No exceptions!" the woman shrieked.

"No exceptions," the posse (non-rapper) around Ms. Pimply said, thought to Naruto it sounded _dreadfully _rehearsed.

"_Who's the old bat?"_ Naruto asked, not liking the look on her face. Like with his dislike of politicians of any kind, it was probably a leftover from his old life.

"_That's Fanny B. Pimply, head of the PTO. If there's _anything _fun, she's against it," _Erika explained.

"Confiscate the medabots!" the old lady ordered, her posse throwing a large fishing net over the medabots, capturing most of them.

"Get this net off of me! Don't make me get meta-busy on you!" Metabe cried as his legs were caught in the net. A flash of steel later, and it was cut away from his legs. Looking to the side, he saw a shuriken wedged in a wall by the shadow of a nearby tree, then traced their flight path to Naruto's left hand, which had a bit of blood on it.

"Kid, there's a time to fight, and a time to run, and that time is _now_!" Samurai stated.

"Cheese it!" Metabee cried like a certain girder-bending robot, cheesing it like no one had cheesed it before.

* * *

A few minutes later after the group's medabots had been taken, and Ms. Pimply made the declaration that any medabots found at Riverview Elementary belonged to her, the PTO dragged the entire teacher faculty up to the teacher's lounge for the "emergency" PTO meeting, which in Naruto's opinion, was started entirely because of something stupid... like anti-aging wrinkle cream.

God –_and everyone else_- knew the old lady needed it.

Anyway, when the meeting was called, the committee began to examine all sides of the issue. And by one, I just mean Pimply's.

"Medabots are dangerous. End of discussion."

"The winner of a robattle takes parts from the loser. It's barbaric."

"If we allow our children to _play _with robots, in time our children will _become _robots."

"Medabots take away valuable homework time."

"If you ask me, I think they're causing the entire education system to crumble."

Like with earlier, Naruto thought the testimony sounded _dreadfully _rehearsed.

Anyway, after that Ms. Pimply pretty much overstepped her authority and called the issue set. The school's student population fought it, but no one listened to them even though the testimony was completely biased, and without fault.

Pimply even had the nerve to say it had nothing to _do _with the kids, even though it was en_tirely _about them.

* * *

For the next week, things pretty much went like this.

Pimply's cronies combed the school up, down, left, right, forwards, and backwards for any traces of medabots. Be it secret robattles behind the school _–which in Naruto's opinion was a bonehead move in the first place since it was still out in the open, just from the back of the school-, _searching school lockers indiscriminately and taking medabots that were hidden there _–and once again Naruto thought hiding a medabot in a locker was stupid, because that was the first place that anyone would look for them-_, as well as combing every other potential hiding place in the school _–though Naruto really thought the Haniwa passing itself off as a clay statue in art class would've escaped the crone's grasp, but alas, it wasn't so-_.

After all this was done, they old birds just tossed the medabots, either tied up or netted up, in a supply shed behind the school like garbage.

The students tried protesting it in the streets, but once again, no one listened to them because they were only kids. It was the struggle of the freedom of the youth against the authority of the old, and the latter seemed to be winning hands down.

But in the thoughts of Rokusho, who had been observing all that was happening from his various roosts,

"_What good could come of a war between the _youthful_ acorn, and the unbending oak?"_

* * *

Later that evening at the Tenryo residence, Naruto told his mom about all his worries as they ate, and to say that she was shocked was an understatement.

"What do you mean they're taking away the medabots?" Hikari asked, putting down her chopsticks. "So that's what's been upsetting you lately."

"Yeah… Mom, do you think it's wrong to bring medabots to school?" Naruto asked with slumped shoulders, his eyes dull and lifeless. Salty came over and rubbed his head against Naruto's hand sensing his worries, the downhearted blond rubbing the dog's head in return. "You're always there for me, aren't you Salty? Sorry I haven't played with you recently."

"Woof," the dog barked in return, a smile on his muzzle and beady black eyes.

"Well of _course _not! As long as it doesn't interfere with your studies, and no one gets hurt, you should be free to bring your medabots to school," Hikari said slamming her palm onto the counter. "Just who on Earth's convinced everyone otherwise?"

"Some old _crone _by the name of Pimply," Naruto said nursing the cut on his hand. He'd found a place in the forest outside town to practice throwing shuriken, and he'd kept one hidden on him in a disguised mint case, but the urgency of that throw caused that slight injury when the throwing star left his hand.

_Pimplyyyyyy… _Hikari growled to herself, remembering something she didn't want to tell Naruto was about the circumstances of him being adopted into the Tenryo family. She'd tell him in a year or two when he was ready, but for now, only you, the readers, will know.

Ahem. When Naruto came into their lives, since she couldn't just say that Naruto came out of a wormhole from another dimension, she just used the "baby in a basket" excuse. From the moment Ms. Pimply heard that story, she was totally against the infant being adopted, saying that there was something unnatural about him, and that he should be put in a proper orphanage. Not only that, but that she goes right around five seconds later and says that she'll raise him to be a "proper boy" and a "productive member of society".

In other words: Lame. And. Boring.

All the griping, whining, and even _threats _aside, she adopted Naruto into the Tenryo family regardless, but the damage had been done. The look the old bag gave him at the baby shower was like those of the ignorant villagers from the blond's old life, and there was no way she was going to let someone like that ruin her Naruto's chance at a new life. A fresh start.

Especially since she was a bitter old crone who could never get anyone to love her, just like all the other old crones. Of course, not all of them were completely alone. Some had children and grandkids that would visit them. But not Pimply. She just pushed everyone away until it was too late. Now she was an old, bitter woman with bad skin. Really bad skin. Skin like the side of a house.

Anyway, back to the story.

"I don't know why…" the blond sighed as he rested his elbows on the table and continued to pet Salty. "But… with all of this going on… I feel… I feel like I'm losing a part of myself to that withered up old bag," he said as he closed his eyes, a lone tear falling from his eyes.

"Oh my poor baby," Hikari cried as she got up from the table and hugged her son. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about all this."

"Wow… You really care for me don't you?" Metabee asked.

"Well of course. You're like a brother to me," Naruto sighed. "Even _though _you shot at me and nearly killed me that one time, you're still like my brother. My crazy, bullet and missile-shooting brother."

"_*Sniff* _I love you man!" Metabee cried as he and Naruto hugged each other, the two of them crying, Hikari scowling the entire time.

Oh, but don't be mistaken. It wasn't _them _she was scowling at. Oh no-no-no.

_That Ms. Pimply… If I ever get my hands on you, I'll make you pay for making my baby boy cry, _Hikari said with a dark look in her face, discretely passing Kyuubi the whetting stone reserved for sharpening the kitchen knives after dinner was over.

With that weirdo with the camera and her _last_… discussion, she used that thing in that week more than she had in an entire year.

* * *

The next day at school during recess, with slumped shoulders Naruto walked up to Erika, who at the moment was hugging her knees beside the pull-up bars.

"Erika… Is something the matter?" the blond asked leaning against them. "You don't look so hot."

"I've _never _been away from Brass this long before," she cried, on the verge of tears. "The two of us have been together as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl. But now, nobody will listen to us, like we just don't matter."

_Erika… I've _never _seen you so sad before. I haven't even seen you cry. Even after you got pushed down by those bullies at the playground and I chased them off, _Naruto thought to himself, his fist tightening to the point that he drew blood. When he looked down at his bloodied hand, part of an old memory came up.

"_I swear… by this pain in my left hand… I won't back down… I won't quit… I'll never give up… and I won't quit fighting… No matter what happens… Even if it costs me my life…"_

"Erika… Gather The Screws. We're getting our medabots back," Naruto said with narrowed eyes, steam rising from the four cuts in his left hand as the girl looked up at him, complete and total awe in her gaze as he held his hand down to her and helped her to her feet.

"Naruto… This is your blood," she said looking down at his hand once she was on her feet.

" . . . I promised myself I'd never back down. That I'd never quit," Naruto said taking a cloth out of his pocket and wiping Erika's hand clean before wiping his own. "Metabee, Samurai, we'll need your help too," he said looking up into the tree.

"As sharp as ever," Samurai said making his presence known, just not out in the open. "I always thought there was something special about you."

"You have _no _idea," Naruto said as a plan formed in his mind.

* * *

A couple hours later during study hall, Naruto, Erika, Sam, Spyke, and Sloan were huddled at the corner of a dark alley. Metabee and Samurai were hidden elsewhere, the prior in contact with Naruto via medawatch. The shed where all the medabots were being held, according to intell provided by a pair of upset students, had two thick chains and a trio of locks on it, and was being guarded by a pair of crones with horn-rimmed glasses.

In other words, crones.

"_Crud, they've got a pair of crones guarding the door," _Sam groaned.

"_My Cyandog's still in there," _Spyke cried.

"_Relax, this was to be expected," _Naruto said back before contacting his medabot on his medawatch, since Naruto had been able to get the Student Council to make sure the PTO didn't have a radio scanner. _"Metabee, you're up."_

"Hey _ladies_!" Metabee shouted out a moment later as he jumped out of another alley. "Looks like you've left one medabot be_hind_! Nya-nya!" he said patting his rear "fender" and pulling on his eyelid. **(No idea how he did that either.)**

"A medabot!"

"Get him!"

After the two cronies ran off, Naruto tapped back onto his medawatch, changing the frequency before pressing the **Talk **button. _"Samurai, the crows are out of the nest. Move in now before they come back."_

A moment later, Samurai dropped down from the top of the nearby building and whipped out his beam katana. "Samurai Sword!"

In a flash of light, the locks and chains had been slashed apart, and Naruto rushed forward and forced the doors open, his ocean blue eyes being greeted with the sight of dozens of medabots tied up or netted up, some in piles so high they reached the ceiling, and others crushed under the weight of their fellows.

"Erika!" Brass cheered when the brunette ran over to her, Naruto pulling out his hidden shuriken and cutting the ropes before the SLR-Type leapt up into the girl's waiting arms.

"Peppercat! I missed you!" Sam cried after Naruto freed the CAT-Medabot.

"Cyandog!" Spyke cried after Sloan untied his medabot, then his own.

"Okay, so we've got all the medabots out, but what'll we do now?" Naruto asked, having not thought past the initial breakout. What do you expect? He's only 10.

"We spread the word and rally our forces beneath our flag!" Erika said clenching her fist with flames in her eyes. "No one separates Brass and me and gets away with it!"

"Yeah! Let's give them hell!" Sam said as she led Spyke and Sloan out of the shed.

After Samurai, the Screws, and the freed medabpots bolted out the shack, Naruto was about to leave too, but he felt his arm pulled back. When he turned around, he saw Erika looking at the ground nervously, holding his hand.

"Erika, is something wrong?" Naruto asked taking her hand.

"Naruto…" Erika said trying to muster her courage. "Thank you," she sighed, losing her nerve at the last minute.

"It was nothing," the blond said with a smile. "Now come on. Let's get going," he said leading her out, not noticing the soft smile, or Erika shaking her head.

* * *

"**Testing. Testing. Is this thing on?" **Erika asked a few minutes later after tapping into the school's PDA system. **"Can you hear what I'm saying? Oh. Okay. Attention ladies of the PTO!"**

A minute later after the beginning of Erika's speech, which was missed because the PTO and teacher staff had run out to the school, their eyes widened when they saw that the students had fortified themselves on the impromptu balcony over the school's front door.

"What do we want?" Naruto demanded proudly, he and the other students wearing helmets and bandanas over their faces to deindividualize themselves.

"Robattle!"

"When do we want 'em?"

"NOW!"

"**The imprisonment of medabots interferes with our childhood development, and mental health. It is a violation of our children's human rights, and we will not tolerate it," **Erika said over the megaphone, having been chosen to speak on the student's behalf. **"We have the right to play with medabots as long as it's on our own time, or during recess, so until this unfair policy is abolished, we are hereby boycotting school!"**

As the students cheered, rallying behind their flag of freedom, for both them and medabots, the faculty and PTO were put in a really tough spot.

"Flashback to the 60s man," a teacher with white hair and some stubble said as though he were tripped-out.

"You kids! You better not scratch up any of those desks!" Coach Mountain bellowed.

"Just come back down."

"Please, you might hurt youselves."

"No way!"

"PTO go home!"

"Give us back our freedom!"

"Right on!"

"Yeah! Medabots are people too you know!" Metabee shouted, causing several people to tilt their heads in confusion.

"Uh, Metabee, I think you should leave the yelling to us," Naruto said. _"You just go to the back and man the ninja trip wires in the hall."_

"Look at what medabots have done to our children. They've turned them into angry protesters," the PTO said mostly together.

"Someone get my purse. I think I brought some pepperspray," another said.

"Oh how did this happen? Everything's falling apart!" the principal cried. "My school! My students!"

"Mr. Principal, you have to do something," Samurai said.

"Why Samurai, but, but, but I'm so confused. What would you do in my position? The PTO says it isn't right for children to play with medabots on school grounds. But the children have rights too, and all _they _want to do is keep their medabots."

"Hand your head in _shame _Mr. Principal. Have you forgotten the true meaning of education?"

"What?"

"Education isn't just about books or homework. Youngsters learn from every facette of life, including playtime. Well I say this is a playground, not a prison. So please, let these children play."

"Samurai, you're… you're right!"

As the people continued to argue amongst themselves as to what form of action to take, the sound of twin motors, rumbling tires, and shaking dirt filled the air. When everyone turned to the school gate, a black dot appeared in the distance, a trail of smoke behind it.

"Rock and roll Rubberobos!" a group shouted from the dot as it came through the gates. Said group was in a wooden wagon being towed by two CAR-Type medabots, the group being a familiar group of individuals wearing jackets and sunglasses.

"Oh no! It's- It's them!" Ms. Pimply cried as the group approached.

"The rockin' Rubberobo gang is here!" the group shouted before the four members stepped out. "Seaslug! Gillgirl! Shrimplips! Squidguts! The Rubberobos are ready to rock!"

"Just as soon as I slick back my hair!" Seaslug said combing back his hair.

_These guys again? What the hell are they doing here? _Naruto asked, recognizing the four's faces, whereas everyone else gasped.

"When we were kids, the parents and teachers wouldn't let us be rock and roll rebels, so now we're going to get even by tearing this school apart!" Seaslug cackled.

"Let's rock and roll!" the other three said as the two CAR medabot's engines flared, said medabots driving circles around the parents, teachers, and Ms. Pimply.

The next moment, the Rubberobos set up a bunch of guitars and amps and started playing some form of music, the soundwaves causing everyone to grab their ears.

"Rock and roll sure takes me back to the days of my youth," Seaslug reminisced.

"Come on Seaslug! Less talkin', more rockin'!" Shrimplips shouted.

"Yeah, we still got a school to demolish, remember?" Gillgirl cheered.

"One more time from the top!" Squidguts shouted.

"The only music allowed in this school is the school bell!" Ms. Pimply cried as they started… playing. "Get 'em ladies!"

"Landmotors! Missile launch!" Seaslug shouted as three of the crones ran at them, the two launching a pair of missiles at them and sending the old birds flying. "Concerned parents are powerless against the Rubberobo gang, and if our _music _doesn't rock you, our Noctobats will," he cackled as a wave of BAT-Types flew into the school's airspace.

As the medabots began to fire on the PTO, and the Rubberobos laughed maniacally, the gathered students turned to one another to determine the next course of action.

"Those weirdo's again? They're _everywhere_," Spyke whined.

"What the hell's their problem?" Sam groaned.

"I don't know, and I don't care, but we've only got one course of action left to us," Naruto said standing on a desk at the edge of the balcony. "We might be prisoners here seven hours a day, but it's still our school! We're the only ones who can save it, so let's run these yahoos out of here! Who's with me?"

"WE'RE WITH YOU!" the students shouted.

"LET'S PUT THE SCREWS TO THEM!" they shouted as they poured back into the building before storming through the front door en masse, regrouping with their liberated medabots and forming a living wall between the adults and the Rubberobos.

"Hey you rubber-wearing freaks! Get out of our school!" Naruto shouted.

"We don't want your kind here!" Erika shouted.

"What did they just say?" Gillgirl asked.

"Sounds like a challenge to me!" Seaslug shouted.

"Then let's robattle!" the student body shouted in unison.

"We're going to teach you brats a little math lesson, and we're going to start with dividing and conquering!" Seaslug said as the Noctobats flew into formation.

"Then it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said, sporting a platoon of semi-lifelike cardboard marionettes connected to himself with steel wire. "Medafighters ready? Medabots? Robattle!" he shouted as he and his clones brought their arms down.

"Attack!" the student body's medabots roared.

"Destroy!" the Noctobats cried.

Within moments, the entire courtyard was filled with fighting. Missiles, lasers, bombs, fists, feet, swords, and even gravity blasts could be seen exchanged from both sides. Medabots fell on each side, but another two rose up, the fighting continuing on both sides.

"Woah. Flashback to the war, man," the ex-hippie said as both sides continued to exchange fire, the principal showing the PTO that medabots weren't all bad. That they were just as much a part of education as the school was.

"Stop the robattle!" a voice suddenly shouted out from the roof, Rokusho's presence revealed to all instilling awe and shock in all there. "Step away from each other! All of you! A robattle like this is madness! Many medabots will suffer unnecessary damage! Instead, chose a representative from both sides!"

"Fine, I choose my Landmotors. Let's double-team 'em!" Seaslug answered, his medabots changing from Vehicle Mode to Robot Mode.

"Then I'll step in for the first slot!" Naruto said as he and Metabee stepped forward. "Mr. Principal, you and Samurai are by me," he called out.

"W-What? Are you sure."

"Samurai is the only medabot that hasn't been damaged. We've got the best shot at winning," Naruto explained.

"What do you think?" the bald man asked.

"I say we go for it," Samurai said stepping beside Metabee.

"Alright then! Just try not to lose your dentures old man!" the KBT chuckled.

"Heh. Try not to wet your diapers kiddo!" the SAM returned.

"Then it's agreed! Medafighters ready? Medabots… ROBATTLE!" Mr. Referee announced.

"Medabots. Transform and roll out," the Landmotor medabots said as their legs folded forward and became the front of the car, while their bodies became its chassis, and it's arms folded behind it and its shoulders settled onto the ground.

"Mr. Principal, they're driving circles around us," Naruto said making that observation known. "Metabee and Samurai will have to go back to back, otherwise they'll be turned into road pizza."

"Oh, speaking of which, I was thinking about bringing in pizza onto the school menu. What do you think?" the man asked.

"Pizza's good, but for now let's robattle," the blond answered. "Also, I'd appreciate a little more ramen on the menu too."

"I'll get on it. As soon as this is done of course."

"Landmotors! Use Crash Attack!" Seaslug ordered, the two CAR-Types rushing at the KBT and SAM-Type medabots, now back to back.

"Wait for it… Wait for it… NOW!" Naruto and Mr. Principal shouted.

"Jumpiiiing!" Metabee and Samurai cried, the two Landmotors crashing into eachother and getting sent into a dual spinout.

"Metabee! Let's see your One-Man Firing Squad!" Naruto shouted.

"One-Man Firing Squad!" Metabee shouted as he began firing with all his medaparts, bullets, rounds, and missiles being sent through the air and blasting the first Landmotor into the ground.

"Let's give them the old one two!" the principal shouted.

"Dual Samurai Sword!" Samurai shouted as he carved two slash marks into the second Landmotor.

"All function ceased! The winners are Metabee and Samurai!" Mr. Referee announced, the students cheering wildly.

"Still got all your teeth old man?" Metabee asked.

"Yep. But I noticed your legs are a little rusty kiddo," Samurai chuckled.

"My work is done here. For now," Rokusho said as he disappeared in a shunshin, leaving the two heroes to be tossed up and down by the crowd.

"That was wonderful," one of the old birds cried.

"I can't stop crying," another said.

"Perhaps those medabots have touched you, or it might just be the tear gas you launched earlier," Mr. Principal stated. "But in any case, you can see how much medabots can teach children, without even opening a book."

"It appears we were wrong on this one Mr. Principal," one of them cried.

"From now on we shall try to show a little more _compassion _for our children and all their little medabot friends," another cried. "Wouldn't you agree Ms. Pimply."

"You owe me for a year's worth of anti-aging wrinkle cream!" Ms. Pimply said as she shook Seaslug back and forth. "Now pay up! I said pay _up_!"

"Excuse us Ms. Pimply. What's going on here?" one of the women asked.

"Well, see, their medabots ran over my anti-aging wrinkle cream last week, so I just-"

"Your anti-aging wrinkle cream?"

"That's what this whole thing was about?"

"You got us into that medabot witch hunt because you wanted softer, younger-looking _skin_?" another demanded as the PTO's glasses gleamed.

"Ehm… Don't forget _healthier_," Ms. Pimply said.

"Get her!" the PTO cried as they formed an angry mob

Ms. Pimply ran off from the angry mob before they could get her, only to bump into someone and fall on her rear. She was about to chew the person out for getting in the way, but the death glare and wave of killing intent she was receiving shut her up, the angry mob behind her stopping in their tracks too as an imposing figure's shadow loomed over them.

Said figure was wearing tan-colored jeans, a light blue long-sleeved shirt, and had a white medawatch on her left wrist. Beside her was a feudal-looking KTN-Type medabot, sharpening its swords with a whetting stone, the ends of the blades gleaming against the unnatural shadow.

"Wh-Wh-Who are you?" Ms. Pimply cried.

"You… made… my… baby boy… CRYYYYY!" Hikari raged before _she _started chasing Ms. Pimply, who was now running even faster than before. "Get back here and take it like a man you old bat!"

"Ahhhhhh! Not the face! Not the face!" Ms. Pimply cried as the hunt began anew, the angry mob behind her keeping their distance, some pulling out their cameras from their overly-large hand bags to document the mauli- I mean, scolding.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the school after Hikari, and the mob, had chased Ms. Pimply out of the school grounds, Naruto helped his medabot to his feet and turned to the principal with a smile on his face.

"Hey Mr. Principal, thanks for the help back there. I couldn't have done it without you," the blond said extending his hand to the man.

"Why thank you Naruto. But why did you chose _me_ out of everyone here?" he asked. "Surely there was _anyone _else you could've chosen."

"Maybe, but I had a good feeling about you," the blond said with a smile. "I really appreciate the help. If Metabee took those two on his own, we might not've won."

"Maybe, but it was an excellent robattle," the man said scratching the back of his hand. "Here. Why don't you take this part I won off them. I don't really need it," he said pressing a set of buttons on hsi medawatch.

"Wow! Really?" Naruto awed as the red laser connected to his medawatch, the part being transfered.

"You earned it," he said transferring the part from his medawatch. "Now why don't you run off and play with your friends. I'm sure we'll see each other at school tomorrow."

"Thanks for the medapart! See you later Mr. Principal," Naruto said as he ran off to join the others.

"That was very kind of you," Samurai said crossing his arms next to his medafighter.

"Well, it _is _the job of the old to bolster the growth of the young," Mr. Principal stated. "Thank you for reminding me why I got into teaching."

"No problem Mr. Principal," the moustachioed medabot said with what would be a smile on his faceplate. "Now come on. We have _just _enough time to complete those lesson plans you missed out on before school tomorrow. Plus we need to order those pizzas and ramen portions."

"Awwwwwww," the man groaned as he followed his medabot to his office, not liking paperwork one bit. "Oh well. At least there'll be pizza and ramen soon."

* * *

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Landmotor # 1  
Head – Bodshot**

**Landmotor # 2 (Given by Samurai)  
Legs – Plasma Dash**

**Author's Note:  
Just for the record, Rasengan means "Spiraling Sphere", but Naruto's Rasen**_**d**_**an means "Spiraling Bullet".**

* * *

**Looks like things have settled down, and medabots are allowed back at school. But, will the Rubberobos ever learn, and will Ms. Pimply ever have younger healthy-looking skin?**

"Noooo!" she cried. "Not the face!"

**Er... anyway... Next time on Naruto Tenryo, A Man Named Dr. Aki.**

**More medabots. More power.**


	15. A Man Named Dr Aki

"The winner is Metabee!" Mr. Referee announced as Cyandog went down via Revolver round.

"And he's down," Naruto said, bringing up the stopwatch he kept on him while training. "You lasted eleven seconds this time. You're improving."

"Yeah, but you keep defeating me," Spyke sighed. "Hey wait, didn't you say I lasted _ten _and a half seconds _last_ time?"

"Like I said, you're improving," Naruto said. _Just not that much._

"Yeah. Barely," Metabee stated.

"Metabee! We're trying to be sensitive to Spyke and Cyandog's condition," Naruto stated. "No offense intended."

"_And yet I'm still offended," _the boy sighed, his medabot patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm just sayin', he's lost _every _single robattle," Metabee quipped. "You'd think he'd improve more than half _second _increments."

"That's quite an outspoken medabot you have there. I've never seen anything like him" a spiky white-haired man said out of nowhere as he started petting Metabee of all things. He had black shoes, grey pants, a pink shirt and a brown overcoat, a brown hat with purple trim, black sunglasses, and a bolo tie with a gold and green pin.

"Hey, this ain't the petting zoo!" Metabee shouted as he wrestled himself free of the guy's grip.

_Where have I seen this guy before, _Naruto thought as he pulled out his copy of Medabots Monthly, and began flipping through it.

"I like this medabot. Is he yours?" the mystery man stated.

"Him. Yeah. He's mine," Naruto said as he continued to scan all the pictures in the magazine. _I _know _I've seen this guy somewhere before. It's just a matter of _where_._

"Hey! I'm my _own _medabot!" Metabee argued.

"Ahhhh, and he's even developed his own sense of self. Impressive," the man mused, his visor-like sunglasses gleaming.

_Hold on… I recognize this guy! _Naruto thought suddenly recognizing the guy's face.

"By the way, I couldn't help but notice your robattle. You fought impressively, but if you ask me, you've still got a way to go. Mind you, we could work on that if you were willing to become my apprentices," the man continued rubbing his chin. "Of course I _would _have to charge you. Hmmmm… I know! I'll let you train with me in exchange for one butterscotch pudding."

"Yeah right," Metabee grumbled.

"We'll do it!" Naruto suddenly cried out.

"Yeah! Wait _what_?" Metabee cried in protest.

"Metabee, don't you know who this guy is?" Naruto cried pointing to the man repeatedly. "I mean, you're a _medabot_. Knowing who this guy is should be second nature!"

"No, I _don't _know him! To me he's just some guy wearing a tie made of shoelaces!" Metabee cried back.

" . . . Hold that thought," Naruto said before walking over to the man and whispering into his ear. After a few seconds of hushed whispering, the man cleared his throat before walking up to Metabee.

"Metabee… I am… your father," the man that Naruto recognized as Dr. Aki stated with dramatic pauses inbetween.

"Nooooooooo!" Metabee cried into the heavens as he fell on his knees.

"Metabee! This is Dr. Aki. _The _Dr. Aki! The inventor of medabots!" Naruto argued. "And last time I checked, you _are _a medabot."

"Wait, what?" the medabot asked.

"Your. Father," Naruto enunciated. "Anyway, you said you'd train us for the price of one butterscotch pudding?" he said turning to the man just to make sure he'd heard right.

"That's right," the man replied.

"You sure?" the blond asked.

"Indubitably," Dr. Aki responded.

" . . . " was all that was exchanged between Naruto and Metabee before.

"TO THE HOUSE! SPYKE! CYANDOG! GRAB HIS ARMS AND I'LL GRAB HIS LEGS!" Naruto cried as he grabbed the man's legs, and Spyke grabbed his arms along with Cyandog, Metabee dashing after them as they bolted to the house.

* * *

"Mom! Mom! _Please_, for the love of god tell me that we have butterscotch pudding!" Naruto cried as he, Spyke, and Cyandog deposited the man onto the couch, the blond fluffing up a pillow for him and propping his feet on the footrest before heading into the kitchen.

"Wow, if I knew I'd get _this _kind of reception, I would've asked him sooner," Dr. Aki chuckled to himself.

"Why do you ask Naruto?" Hikari asked as she worked on dinner, Foxuno chopping vegetables after tossing them in mid-air before depositing them on a cutting board.

"Dr. Aki just asked me to become his apprentice at the price of one butterscotch pudding," Naruto explained. "Please please please please _please _say you have butterscotch pudding!"

"Dr. Aki? You mean the man who built medabots?" she asked.

"Yes! That's him! Do you have any or what?" he asked.

"Sorry Naruto-san, but we don't have any. Your father grabbed the last one for lunch this morning," Foxuno answered, using the old form of honorifics.

"Aaaaaaaw! I was so close!" the blond cried as he felt to his knees, the doorbell going off a moment later. "I'll get it," he sighed as he opened the door. "Eh? Koji, what're you doing at my house?"

"Is there a doctor in the house?" the boy asked ignoring Naruto.

"Oh hi Koji," Dr. Aki said poking his head out from the living room.

"Hi doctor. How've you been? I was looking for you. Where were you?"

"I was in the park watching a robattle," the man chuckled. _Though with their conversation, it didn't seem like much of one._

"You two know each other?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, it's _you_. What're _you _doing here?" Koji asked finally noticing the blond's presence.

"Once again… I LIVE HERE!" Naruto shouted, once again unintentionally using the big head jutsu.

"Uncle Aki, there you are," Karin said suddenly running in from her limo and wrapping her arms around him, then noticed the blond at the man's side. "Oh, Naruto, it's good to see you again," the red-head said with a smile, then noticed Naruto there. "I just came along to get my uncle. Oh, I see you got a new medabot, and a Foxuno at that. You have good taste," she said noticing the fox-style medabot slicing vegetables in the kitchen.

"Yeah, well, it isn't really mine. I gave her to my mom a while back," Naruto answered.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Karin said with a smile, causing Koji to blanch, then furrow his eyebrows in rage.

"Uh, not really," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, I see you know my niece," Dr. Aki said coming into the conversation.

"Yeah, though we don't know each other that well," Naruto admitted. "Ah! I got it! The butterscotch pudding!" he said suddenly snapping his fingers. "Spyke! Cyandog! Grab his arms, I'll get his legs!"

"Hey, get back here!" Koji shouted as Naruto, the spiky-haired kid, and his medabot bolted down the street carrying the doctor.

"Hey Kar', think you could spare a seat?" Metabee asked, having been left behind again.

"Sure thing Metabee," Karin said with a smile as she lead him to the car, shutting the door behind her.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Hikari and Kyuubi were putting the finishing touches on the stew before leaving it to… stew.

"Hikari-sama, are things usually this energetic?" Kyuubi asked.

"Ever since that regional robattle tournament, things usually are," the woman said with a smile. _Naruto, you've got a great group of friends._

* * *

"Gourmet butterscotch pudding is rather expensive, but, mmmmmm, it's worth it," Dr. Aki said a few minutes later at the nearby Hop Mart, he as well as Karin, Koji, Spyke, and Naruto all eating a cup of said pudding.

"Easy for _you _to say. You didn't have to _pay _for it," Henry cried, having been talked into _buying _said pudding.

"Thanks Henry. Don't worry. Next time the pudding's on me," Dr. Aki apologized.

"Gourmet? Never thought I'd hear that word where the Hop Mart was concerned," Naruto said taking another scoop of his pudding. "That aside, how do the two of you know each other?"

"Well… I um…"

"We go way back. Henry here used to be my apprentice," he explained, earning gasps from Naruto, Spyke, Metabee, and Cyandog. "Buuuuut he didn't have the drive to finish his trainging. Well at least he's still got his _day _job. Hahahahahahaha."

"That's it! No more pudding for you!" the store clerk raged.

"Wow, first its your unibrow, then the purse, and now this. Henry, you never fail to disappoint," Metabee stated.

"Oh can it you defective piece of junk," Henry growled back, then suddenly bit his tongue after having said that. A minute later however, Metabee had yet to blow up in his face, or, you know, for Henry to _be _blown up. "Um, isn't this the part where you start shooting?"

"Normally yes, but I'm trying to make a good first impression on my father," Metabee stated.

"He's not your _real _father!" Henry cried.

"Well _I _certainly wouldn't quit! When I start something, I stick with it until I finish it! Believe it!" Naruto said clenching his fist. Wow_, that last part sounded a lot less stupid in my head._

"That's good to hear," Dr. Aki said, Naruto reminding him of himself in his youth. Just not blond or whisker-marked. "So, mind telling me what you want to do when you grow up?"

"Well, I guess for now I want to be a world-famous robattle champion," Naruto answered. "However when I get older I'd like to work at the Meabot Corporation, either designing, building, or just _working _with medabots in general."

"Ah, so it's _medabots _that inspire you," he said rubbing his chin. "Think you could tell me how you got Metabee? I notice you're using an outdated model, when most kids your age would prefer just about anything else," he continued, a tick mark forming on the KBT's forehead before he swallowed it down.

"Well… There were these rock and roll punks running around town and forcing people into submission robattles," Naruto began as he recalled the beginning of his robattle career. "At the time I was the only kid in town who _didn't _have a medabot, and when my friend Erika was forced into a corner by them, I rushed back _here _and purchased Metabee to fight them off, though more out of necessity than volition. Of course, even after Metabee shot at me on multiple occasions, I was pretty glad I got him. He's a little hotheaded at times, but he keeps things interesting, and I wouldn't replace him for any medabot in the world," he said finishing his pudding.

"Ah, so you've already learned the first lesson every medafighter has to learn," Dr. Aki said with a smile. "Before you can be a true medafighter, you have to bond to your medabot and come to an understanding about one another. Close the gap between man and machine. Naruto, I think you're ready to _really _become my apprentice now."

"I thought you said I had to get you one butterscotch_ pudding_ for that," the blond stated blandly.

"That was more of one of those things that I could get you to open up as we ate butterscotch pudding together," Dr. Aki stated. "So once again, do you think you're ready to be my apprentice?"

"I'd be honored," Naruto said, happy to be getting tips from the man who invented medabots in the first place.

"Then you won't mind helping me out with a few things first," Dr. Aki said crossing his arms.

"As long as it doesn't involve any snakes, I'm fine with it," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders. "What about you Metabee? You wanna join in?"

" . . . Might as well. I might learn some robattle tips," the medabot sighed.

"What about you Spyke? Wanna be my apprentice?" Dr. Aki asked.

"Uh, I'd like to, but I'd probably just take up your time," Spyke said rubbing the back of his head. "Besides, I've already got a previous commitment."

_Like doing shining Sam's shoes? _Metabee wondered as the spiky-haired kid left.

"By the way, why no snakes?" Dr. Aki asked the blond.

" . . . Ophidiophobia," the blond answered honestly.

"Ah, the fear of snakes," Dr. Aki stated rubbing his chin. "Well, aside from the possibility of seeing an SNA-Type medabot, I doubt you'll deal with any snakes."

"It isn't snakes in general that frighten me. Just the ones that could actually _eat _me," the blond returned.

* * *

A limo ride later, Karin having invited Naruto and Metabee along with Dr. Aki on hers, while Koji had to take his own and huff, the group came up to Dr. Aki's estate. It was a large two-story brick-laden estate, much like the ones in Europe, a white picket fence around the property, and an array of different types of shrubbery and topiary.

"Wow uh… Nice place…" Naruto said as he left the foyer and came into one of the study rooms, a layer of dust on every surface and cobwebs in every corner.

"I've just been so busy with my work at the Medabot Corporation, that I haven't really had any time for housekeeping," Dr. Aki answered. "I'll need you to dust all the shelves, clean out the cobwebs, and maybe chase out the bats from the attic."

"Okay… By the way, where's a phone? I forgot to tell my mom I was leaving Riverview," Naruto said looking around.

"There's one in the den. Just keep the call under five minutes, okay?" Dr. Aki stated. "I might be rich, but that doesn't mean I'm made of money."

"I guess…" Naruto said as he made his way into the den and called his mom on the dust-covered phone. After telling his mom he'd be out for a bit, which she was seemingly fine with, he got to work in the first room Dr. Aki showed him, taking a wipe cloth to all the horizontal surfaces and picture frames.

"Stupid books. If this guy had an autobiography, it'd be called, My Life as a Slob, by Dr. Aki. Man, I've had it!" Metabee growled as he beat the large books with a featherduster. "Naruto! My name is Metabee! Not Meta_maid_! What's the big idea?"

"Well… sure Dr. Aki's a bit eccentric, but so are _all _the greats," Naruto answered. "Albert Einstein stunk at math, Michael Jackson kidnapped little boys, and Maito Gai wore spandex."

"Maito _who_?" Metabee asked.

"Some martial artist who wore spandex and could break boulders with his fists," Naruto answered. "Besides, you don't see _Sumilidon _giving up," he said pointing to the STG-Type medabot in the next room with a broom, Koji polishing an oxidized bronze bust of Dr. AKi. "Of course, I'm still trying to figure out why Koji's here. I thought he'd be too self-centered to admit he could learn anything from anyone else other than himself."

"I'm not going to let Naruto be Dr. Aki's _only _apprentice. I'm _smarter _than him, _faster _than him, and I'm _braver _than him," Koji said arrogantly as he polished the bust. A moment later, a St. Andrew's Cross spider lowered itself in front of Koji's face, his face turning purple a moment later as he fell on his ass. "AHHHHHHHH! HURRRRRRRRRR!"

"Don't worry Koji. It's just an itsy bitsy spider," Sumilidon said waving the end of his broom handle at the spider, scaring it away.

"Ahhhh! I can't _stand _spiders! I hate them! They creep me out!" Koji shrieked.

"Oh I am getting _sooo _much mileage out of this," Naruto chuckled darkly, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Well… I guess I could ride this out for a little while longer," Metabee admitted as he got back to work.

"Heh. I wonder if there are any joke stores in Rosewood," Naruto chuckled, then looked up and noticed Karin dusting next to him and humming a little tune. "Let me guess. Cleaning's your hobby?"'

"Why of course. It's very soothing," she said with a smile.

"Hey red, wanna do _my _share?" Metabee asked.

* * *

"_I'm _stronger. _I'm _faster. _I'm _braver," Koji repeated to himself as he, Naruto, and Karin carried groceries for Dr. Aki.

"Oh my god a giant spider!" Naruto called out pointing in a random direction.

"AHHHHH! WHERE?" Koji cried looking around frantically.

"So much mileage," Naruto smiled to himself as Koji looked around frantically. He then saw a butterfly go through the air, his ocean blue eyes following it until it perched on a pink-petaled flower. Sitting next to said flower was the KWG medabot, Rokusho.

"Oh hey, what's Rokusho doing here?" Metabee asked.

-**Cue Rokusho theme**-

"A butterfly, migrating. Are you also searching for a place to call home?" he asked as he watched the flower's delicate frame shift in the subtle breeze.

"Hey, you there, Roukusho?" Dr. Aki called out as he ran down the hill, causing the resting butterfly away.

"Is there… something I can help you with?" Rokusho asked looking up at the bolo tie-wearing man.

"Your reputation precedes you Rokusho," the doctor said. "It's a pleasure to finally come face to face."

"Indeed," Rokusho said as he got up, the sound of his weary servos whirring as he did.

"A moment please," Dr. Aki interrupted as Rokusho started to walk away. "I'm curious. You see, I happen to be a great lover of medabots and I must ask, what's a wandering medabot like you searching for anyway?"

" . . . A good question… One for which I have no answer," Rokusho in a sagely way.

_Rokusho… A medabot of many mysteries… _Dr. Aki awed as the medabot walked away.

"Hey! Rokusho!" Naruto called out catching his attention. "Would you mind coming by my house later? I have something I want to give you!"

"I'll see if I can," Rokusho said as he walked off, his cloak fluttering in the wind before he disappeared in a blur of speed.

"Just what could you have to give a guy like _him_?" Koji asked.

"Maybe a novelty spider," he said pulling out a novelty spider on the end of a stick, causing Koji to bug out and toss the groceries into the air, Neutranurse and Metabee catching the bags as the boy fell into the fetal position. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I have something more useful in mind for him."

"Ahhh! Neutranurse!" Karin suddenly cried, Naruto and Metabee turning around, her medabot dangling from some webbing being held by a black, yellow, and green SPI-Type medabot.

"Aaaaah! 'Nother spider!" Koji cried as he began rolling on the ground.

"Ah hahahaha. Dr. Aki, your medabot has been captured by the _evil _Rubberobo Gang," Gillgirl cackled from the next branch up, Shrimplips next to her with a large mallet with metal plating and red accordion-like structures, what looked like the back side of a medal embedded on one end.

"You must be mistaken. I don't belong to Dr. Aki," Neutranurse stated.

"Oh _I'm _sorry, I'm mistaken. I guess Dr. Aki didn't invent medabots, _and _he didn't put a rare medal in his own medabot," Shrimlips said snidely. "NOT!"

"Again with this Rare Medal talk," Naruto said as they ran off, the Spidar medabot carrying the NAS-Type medabot away. "After them!" he shouted as he ran off with Karin after the Rubberobos, leaving Koji in his dust as he bolted off with his medabot.

* * *

A minute later, Naruto, Metabee, Karin, and Dr. Aki arrived at an abandoned junkyard. There had just been a lightning strike through spiraling grey clouds, and the group feared the worst. Or at least for Neutranurse, and for some reason, Naruto thought he heard an ominous voice raging at someone from the sky before they arrived. At the moment they arrived, they saw an unconsciout Neutranurse webbed onto a stack of cars, her optics dark, and her medal in the hands of Shrimplips.

"Alright you _brat_! Hand over that medal, otherwise you're going to need a need to change your diaper!" Naruto growled, he and Metabee cracking their knuckles.

"You don't scare me!" Shrimplips shouted, though his legs were shaking. "That is, unless you'd rather robattle for it!"

"Bring it on shrimpy!" Metabee growled.

"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said suddenly coming down on a bungee cord, his head a half-inch from the ground. "Meeedafighters… ready? Medabots… Robattle!" he said doing his arm chop. Just upside down.

"Spidar! Hit them with your Arachnablaster!" Shrimplips ordered, his medabot firing a storm of sticky cream-colored globs from its arms.

"Gah! He got me!" Metabee shouted as his foot got stuck to the ground, though he tried to dodge. "Talk about a sticky situation!" he cried as he tried to yank his foot free.

"Spidar! Web Cannon!" he shouted, the medabot launching a large net of webbing onto Metabee's head.

"No! Metabee's in trouble!" Karin cried as Metabee tried to break himself free.

"Looks like I win! Spidar! Finish him!" Shrimplips shouted.

"Not on my watch! Metabee! Heads up!" Naruto shouted throwing his hidden kunai through the air at Metabee's feet.

"Sweet!" Metabee cheered grabbing the kunai and cutting himself free and rounding on Spidar a moment later.

"Hey Ref! That's got to be cheating!" Shrimplips cried in outrage.

"It _actually_ is not. Robattle regulations state that objects can be removed or placed in the battlefield, either before, during, or after a robattle, as long as they do not directly influence the robattle in question," Mr. Referee explained.

"What _would _count directly?" Gillgirl asked. "In case you didn't notice, Metabee just freed himself."

"If the kunai hit Spidar directly, that would count as him influencing the robattle," Mr. Referee answered, causing the Rubberobos to deadpan. "There is also no rule against using whatever's on the field to cut himself free of traps."

"But the blond _put _that knife there!" Shrimplips argued.

"I do not make the rules. I just enforce them," the man with the moustache stated adamantly.

"Naruto, where'd you even _get_ that kunai? Ninja tools haven't been used in Japan for two centuries at _least_," Dr. Aki stated.

"No time for that!" Naruto stated. "Metabee! Hit him with your Seeker Missiles!"

"You got it! Missile Lauch!" Metabee shouted as he fired his missiles at Spidar, its medal being ejected a moment later. "Wow, that was way too easy."

"Function ceased! The winner is Metabee!" Mr. Refee announced.

"Yeah! We won! Now hand over Neutranurse's medal!" Naruto ordered.

"Fine! Take it! But remember this! You've just messed with the _new _Rubberobo Gang! We're more evil than _ever_, and you're gonna _pay_!" Shrimplips cried out as he ran off and left the medal behind.

"I hope Neutranurse is alright," Karin said as she inserted the Mermaid medal into her medabot's medal chamber, the clasp sliding down onto it and her medabot's eyes lighting back up.

"What… What happened?" Neutranurse asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"Well… All's well that ends well," Naruto said as Karin and Neutranurse hugged one another.

"Yes. Thanks to _me_ and my nerves of _steel_," Koji said confidently flicking some hair out of her eyes.

"Could you say it a little louder? I didn't have the novelty spider _down_ yet," Metabee said as he grabbed Naruto's novelty spider and waved it in front of Koji's face.

"Aaaaaaah! Spider!" Koji cried as he completely flipped out.

"Naruto, I really _do _have to ask you, where'd you get that kunai?" Dr. Aki asked as the blond walked over to where Metabee left the throwing knife, the blond sliding it back into the hidden holster on the inside of his pant leg.

" . . . Package," Naruto said as he smoothed out his pant leg before walking off. "Come on Metabee. Let's go home. I saw a bus stop on the way here."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Dr. Aki said as the blond left, tuning out Koji as he continued to flip out.

* * *

Later that evening at the Tenryo residence after the sun had fully set on the horizon, a silver Kuwagata-style medabot dropped down into the Tenryo residence yard, looking around to follow up on what he said to Naruto earlier that day.

Within moments he heard metallic footsteps behind him. Thinking it was Metabee he turned around to greet him, only for his eyes to widen when it was the Foxuno medabot he watched fight a couple weeks ago.

Thinking it was an enemy, he quickly reared back his right arm and readied his Kanbaris Sword and lunged, the medabot crossing its swords in front of it and shrieking.

_Wait, shrieking? _Rokusho wondered as his attack was held back.

"S-Stop! I come in peace!" the fox-style medabot cried as she held his sword back.

"You did not speak before. What caused this change?" Rokusho asked stepping back.

"A change in ownership. I'm Hikari-sama's medabot now?" the medabot stated placing her hands on her hips. "I go by Kyuubi now."

"Oh. I apologize for attacking you like that. I thought the Rubberobo Gang had come back to this residence," Rokusho stated.

"No harm done," Kyuubi stated.

"Where is Naruto. By his words, I had thought he'd be meeting me in person," Rokusho said looking around the yard.

"Naruto-san went to sleep earlier, saying he was a bit tired from all that work today, but he wanted me to give you this in his place and apologize for not being able to give it to you himself," Kyuubi said holding something out to Rokusho with both hands. What she held in her hand appeared to be a kunai, but different than the kind he had seen Naruto use.

Its blade was light grey and flat instead of being black and diamond-shaped, and it had had another two blades at the base forming an upside down **T **shape when held upwards. The handle was thicker than normal as well, bound in hardwood and inscribed with various symbols that he couldn't understand, though it appeared to be some sort of formula. Finally there was the ring on the end, which was larger and thinner than the kind the blond used.

"What is it?" the medabot asked as he took the bladed weapon in his hand

"It's a special kunai that Naruto-san brought with him from his home world," Kyuubi answered. "It holds great value to him, but he believes it may help you on your own journey."

"You say home world like he isn't from _ours_. Does that bear truth?"

"I only know the bare minimum. I'm sure he'd tell you someday."

" . . . Tell him I say thanks," Rokusho returned, but then realized he had nowhere to put it. "It appears I have no way of carrying it."

"Oh, here. He asked me to give you one of these," she said passing him an adjustable black leather belt with a D-ring on the side. On the front was a silver plate with what looked like a leaf engraved into it, its body in the form of a spiral with a bent line in the form of a stem

"I will try to make use of it," Rokusho said walking off as he took the belt in his hand.

"Take care of yourself!" Kyuubi called out.

" . . . I will," Rokusho said as he tightened the belt around his waist, then disappeared in a blur, disturbing the leaves at his feet like a miniature tornado.

* * *

**Naruto's Medapart Winnings**

**Spidar  
Right Arm – Cheapertrap**

* * *

**Neutranurse has been rescued, and Naruto has won his robattle by a technicality. Just what are the Rubberobos after? Will Koji ever quit bugging out? And what will Rokusho use the mysterious three-pronged kunai for? ****You'll have to continue reading Naruto Tenryo to find out.**

**More Medabots. More Power.**


	16. Tour & Lonely Designer of Medabot Corp

It was a few days later after Naruto became Dr. Aki's apprentice. Admittedly since then the blond had yet to see the eccentric doctor again, but figured it was due to scheduling conflicts. Naruto was fine with it, and was happy that Rokusho had been able to stop by and pick up the gift he wanted to give him.

If memory served, not only was that three-pronged kunai powerful, but that it also had its own special power. One that brought him home many times before. Or at least before he became a Tenryo. It was also meant to be a sign of friendship between him and Rokusho, in the hopes that they'd always be friends, just like him and Metabee.

Anyway, it was now Sunday morning and the blond was eating breakfast at the table with his mom, his dad having left for work earlier that morning. Like, before he got up. As Metabee was watching the Mythbusters blow a cement truck into a million pieces with ANFO, the phone suddenly rang.

"I'll get it," he said as he got up and answered the phone. "Hello? Karin? What brings you calling this morning? Really? _Really_? Wow, I don't know what to say," the blond said, causing his mom to look up with a raised eyebrow. "Well, sure, I'll ask, but I can't make any guarantees yet. Bye."

"What'd she say? Sounded like an interesting conversation from _here_," Hikari chuckled, resting her chin on interlaced fingers.

"Dr. Aki is bringing Karin's friends together for a tour of the Medabot Corporation building, and she asked _me _to go," Naruto said acting like Christmas came early. "Do you know what this _means_?"

"Not really but I'm sure you'll tell me," she said with a smile.

"I'll get to see the place where 90 percent of the world's medabots are designed and _made_," Naruto said walking around the table, unable to stand still. "Can I go mom? Please? I've always wanted to go to the Medabots Corporation building," he said getting on his knees and interlacing his fingers.

"Sure," she replied, the blond practically jumping for joy. "Oh Naruto, I meant to give you this the other day, but you ran out before I could," Hikari said passing Naruto what looked like a stainless-steel cell phone, the kind you flick open. "It's an emergency line your father got for you on the friends and family plan. Thought it would be good to have one with everything that's going on."

"Thanks mom," Naruto said taking the phone before running off, then running back up and kissing her on the cheek before running off again. "I'll see you later. I've got to go get the others together. Metabee, you're coming with me," he said yanking the medabot off the couch.

"Take care of yourself Naruto-san," Kyuubi said from the living room as she dusted the TV.

"Later Salty. I promise I'll play with you later boy," Naruto said running by his dog's playhouse and rubbing his head.

"Woof," the dog barked as the blond and his medabot ran down the street. He was ever faithful to the blond, willing to wait all the time in the world.

* * *

"Naruto, you'd better have a _damn _good excuse for dragging me out of bed on a Sunday morning," Sam groaned as she, Spyke, Sloan, and Erika stood on the platform by the tracks.

"You were already awake weren't you?" the blond asked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I wanted to get _out _of bed," she groaned.

"Yeah, really now. Why'd you have to drag us out here? Even _I _like to sleep in every once in a while," Erika added.

_That's right, I forgot to tell Erika about the other day, _Naruto thought to himself before looking over to the escalator. "Ah, there she is now."

"Ah, Naruto, good morning," the red-head greeted as she stepped off the escalator.

"Naruto, what does _Karin _have to do with why you called us here?" Erika asked. The blond hadn't shown a puppy love-type interest in her before, but hoped he wouldn't start. With her questioning herself around him, it would just make things more complicated.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Spyke chattered happily, his feet bouncing off and on the ground like he was standing on a hot roof.

"Hey Spyke, what's with you?" Sloan asked. "You eat too much sugary cerial this morning? I hate when that happens."

"Hi kids, so sorry if we kept you waiting," Dr. Aki said coming up the escalator. To the others however, it was just a man with a moustache and "a tie made of shoelaces".

"Who's the old guy?" Sloan asked.

"Oh, this is my uncle," Karin stated.

"That man can't be Karin's uncle. Her family's totally rich. That guy's so poor he's wearing a tie made out of shoelaces," Erika said skeptically.

"It's an antique bolo tie. It's worth more than my island in the Caribean," the man argued, defending the marred honor of his bolo tie.

"Now now Dr. Aki, I'm sure she just isn't aware of your eccentric nuances," Naruto said, casually sliding the man's name into the conversation.

"_Oh_, so he's a doctor the- Wait! You mean _the _Dr. Aki! The man who invented medabots?" the brunette suddenly cried pointing a finger at him.

"You got it! I'm the man that invented medabots! That's me alright! Dr. Aki!" the man said flashing a toothy grin.

"Uhhh… Nice to meet you love the tie," the brunette added lightly.

"_Smooth," _Spyke chipped in, only for said brunette to punch him over the head.

"Hey Naruto, what'd you call us here for anyway?" Sloan asked. "I was just about to do my laundry when you came pounding on my front door."

"Didn't Naruto tell you? We're going to be taking a tour of the Metabots Corporation," Dr. Aki stated, a profound silence spreading across the group for a few seconds before-

"Naruto I could totally _kiss _you right now!" Sam said pulling the blond into a bear hug, swinging him around causing his feet to leave the ground as though he were a rag doll. "Uh. I mean. If it wouldn't be totally weird I mean," she amended, noticing the glare Erika was giving her before she set the blond down.

* * *

A few minutes later after the train had arrived on the platform, the group of eight, counting Metabee and Neutranurse, boarded the monorail and headed to Medaropolis, the largest hub for medabot and medabot related parts in Japan. As well as the rest of the world.

"Naruto's my new apprentice. Didn't he tell you?" Dr. Aki asked.

"No, he didn't," the brunette said. "Naruto, why didn't you _tell _me you were training Dr. Aki? Something like this will sell school papers like hotcakes!"

"Well I _wanted _to tell you, but the timing wasn't right," the blond admitted. "Plus, I thought _Spyke _would've been screaming to the heavens that he met Dr. Aki."

"What? You met Dr. Aki and didn't even _tell _me!" Sam cried shaking the boy by the collar.

"So _where _is it we're going again?" Metabee asked.

"Metabee, not knowing _what _the Medabot Corporation is is like not knowing your own _birthday_," Naruto chided. "It's the place where 90% of the world's medabot and medabot-related products are designed and manufactured."

"Ah, I see you've been studying up on medabots," the doctor said crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Well I _did _say I wanted to work at the Medabot Corporation someday," the blond admitted scratching his cheek.

"Well hold onto your dreams steadfast, and I'm sure you'll go far. Heck, you might even end up working under _me_ one day," the man chuckled. "By the way, something I've been meaning to ask you. Are those marks on your cheeks tattoos or birthmarks?" he asked out of nowhere.

"Birthmarks. And don't stroke them. It's weird," the blond said crossing his arms before looking around the train. "By the way, where's Koji? I thought he would've been all _over _something like this," he said noticing the absence of the overly-flamboyant child.

"Oh, Koji seemed really stressed out after last week, so I decided to let him be," Karin said, having unintentionally blown the boy off in favor of Naruto.

"Koji? You mean that rich kid that Naruto beat with his Metabee Seeker Missile?" Sam asked. "Man, that was one _awesome _robattle, I'll tell you that much."

"Metabee… Seeker Missile?" Dr. Aki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll uh… tell you over lunch," Naruto said scratching his cheek.

"You know, I don't really see what the big deal is about these marks," Karin said reaching over and touching Naruto's face. "I mean, it isn't like stroking them will make you-"

"P_rrrrrrrrrrrrr…_" the blond suddenly sighed with his eyes half-closed as the low rumbling sound came from his throat, shocking everyone out of what they were thinking.

Good thing it was just them in that carriage. Otherwise things would've gotten ereally weird.

"Um… Neutranurse… What was that?" the red-head asked, unintentionally continuing to stroke the blond's cheek with her hand, his shoulders and back relaxing further as he continued to lean further back into his seat.

"I believe that would be him purring," the NAS-Type stated poignantly.

"Woah…" Sam awed at the sight. Here was a guy that took down the Punk Rockers, Baron von Banish and won his first regional robattle tournament, and now he was purring like a cat with eyes half closed.

A minute later of Karin continuing to unintentionally stroke the blond's cheek, said blond's eyes suddenly snapped open before he leapt across the aisle and slapped his hands on his cheeks.

"I-I _told _you it would be weird," the blond cried, hoping his face wasn't turning pink.

"Naruto, were you _purring _just then?" Erika asked in shock.

" . . . Maybe…" the blond stated with crossed arms. "It never came up before."

_Naruto purrs when you stroke his cheeks… _Erika trailed off as she stared out into space, imagining the blond resting his head on her lap as they sat on a grassy hillside, stroking his cheek as he nuzzled against her stomach.

_What's _her _deal? _Sam asked herself noticing the brunette's spaced-out look, trying to get over the fact that the blond she'd come to respect immensely would _purr _of all things when you stroked his cheeks.

* * *

A short walk from the next station later, and everyone found themselves in front of the Medabot Corporation building. It was a massive, rectangular shaped building that towered over everything around it, almost to the point where you had to crane your neck to see all the way to the top. The building was mostly grey with some blue highlighting, and over the door was large, stylized grey medal with the word **MEDABOT **emblazoned in big reddish orange letters. Instead of a lobby was a long series of security gates, and they all looked heavily fortified.

"Here it is…" Naruto said in awe of the massive building in front of him. "The Medabot Corporation building."

"Home sweet home," Metabee said looking up at the place.

"Until twenty minutes ago you didn't even know this place ex_isted_," Spyke said with a smug grin.

"Don't make me Meta-bee-bop you!" the KBT-Type threatened.

"Morning Dr. Aki," one of the guards greeted.

"Morning Hikaru. I need one family, and five guest All-Access Passes please," the man stated casually.

"I'm guessing you're his guests?" the guard asked, turning to the kids standing just outside the door.

"Y-Yes," Naruto said a bit nervously, hoping that there weren't hidden turrets behind those security gates. For reasons like that, he didn't bring any hidden weaponry.

"Well okay then…" the man said tapping a few keys. "Just step in front of the camera lens and I'll have your pass pictures taken," he said as a piece of the wall folded up, a vertically-adjustable camera lens and a slot at eye level with the group.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaaah. I'll treasure this always," Spyke said a few minutes later, rubbing his All-Access pass against his cheek.

"You have no shame," Sam groaned, but secretly swooned herself when she thought no one was looking.

"Man. Security's pretty _tight _here isn't it? I counted over a _dozen _security gates on the way in," Naruto said looking back to the hallway they came through before wisely stepping away.

"Medabots Corporation is chock full of classified data and technology. Our security has to be tight," the man explained.

"Do you ever catch spies from other companies trying to sneak in?" Erika asked, finding a newsworthy story from nearly every facet the Medabot Corporation had.

"Oh, maybe twenty to thirty spies," the man answered. "On a _slow _day," he said so casually it was like he was talking about the weather.

"Is it dangerous?" Spyke asked. "I mean, they can't _all _just take getting caught without… trying to fight their way out."

"Relax. We've got the best security system in the world. No spy's going to pass _my _guards. They wouldn't even let a _fly _through here," the doctor said allaying the kid's worries, whereas at the same time, a disguised Seaslug was taking pictures of the lobby security measures with a camera disguised as a pen.

A moment later the man finished a hidden transmission on the radio hidden in his pen, but suddenly hit his shin on the side of Metabee's head. "Yoooooow! Ah! Ah! Ah!" he cried holding onto his bruised shin.

"Oooogh. My aching tinpet," Metabe groaned as he rubbed the side of his head, the guy who bumped into him screaming a moment later before running off. "First the guy runs into me, then he doesn't even apologize. What's _his _deal?" he asked as the group left for the start of their tour.

* * *

A few minutes later, the group found themselves behind a thick glass screen. On the other side was a massive set of machinery, pressing and shaping metal until it formed its finished product. The Tinpet.

As crimson sparks from each construct flew through the air, everyone watched in awe as one tinpet after another was moved through the assembly line.

"Pretty neat huh? This assembly line produces 2,000 tinpets, and 500 types of medaparts a day," the man explained as the kids all had their faces pressed to the window. Or at least everyone sans Karin, who'd been watching this rigid dance of machinery since she was a little kid.

Or… littl_er_.

"We can produce medabots at an incredibly low cost, thanks to the invention of an amazing new metal compound. We call it Medabot Alloy, or M-Alloy for short," he continued.

"M-Alloy. I haven't read up on it that much. What is it?" Naruto asked.

"M-Alloy was designed using the latest in nanotechnology. It's as flexible as human bone, yet stronger than a diamond. Plus the alloy contains built-in microscopic regenerators. They give medabots the ability to automatically repair minor damage so they can heal themselves. Just like you and I," he explained. "M-Alloy is truly an amazing invention. A breakthrough that's changed our world. And we owe it all to Dr. Aki. Yes, thanks to Dr. Aki and his astounding works, medabots are found everywhere around the world."

"Your third-person referencing aside, I have a question," Erika stated.

"Sure. What is it?"

"You said M-Alloy was as flexible as human bone, and that it could repair itself," she stated. "What applications could this have in the _medical_ world?"

"Well I'm obviously no _medical _doctor, but if I'd have to guess, potentially M-Alloy could be used to replace bone grafting materials with something more effective," Dr. Aki stated. "However, with medical technology as it is today, that field hasn't needed to be explored."

"Uncle Aki, I can't believe we're seeing all this," Karin said smiling. No matter how many times she'd see this, there was something wondrous about medabots being built.

"Very few people are allowed to see it, but when you're on the Dr. Aki tour, you get an all access pass. Hm hm hm," he chuckled to himself, then suddenly placed his hand on his chin. Like he were trying to remember something.

"Hey Dr. Aki, we saw how the tinpets and medaparts are made, but where do the _medals _come from?" Sam asked, Dr. Aki suddenly stopping with a bit of sweat on his temple.

"Yeah, I always wondered where they came from," Spyke wondered. Cyandog's Monkey medal didn't look like it was made in a press, since it didn't show the tell-tale signs.

"I'd love to see your medal-building room Dr. Aki," Karin stated, since she had never seen _that _before.

"Uh, well, you see," Dr. Aki said nervously.

"Yo Doc!" Metabee called out drawing his attention and causing the doctor to panic at where he was standing. "We haven't been through _these_ rooms. I wanna see what's behind Door Number _Two_," he said pointing to an open hallway lit with dim red light, the border painted with yellow and black stripes with **Caution **boards around it.

"Y-You can't go in there! No unauthorized personell beyond this point," the man panicked as he barred the way.

"But didn't you say this was _All-Access_?" Erika smirked, bringing out her camera which she was able to bring in, thanks to the _All-Access _part of her pass.

"That's okay. You gave us All-Access Passes," Karin said sweetly.

"Those passes aren't valid here. Not even…" he started protesting, but suddenly paused with his hand on his chin.

"Dr. Aki? What's on your mind?" Karin asked, noticing that her uncle had suddenly changed the topic of the argument to Nothing.

"You know what, forget Door Number Two. I've got something even _better _in mind than what's down this all," the man said leading the group away from the open, yellow and black-bordered hallway. "Come along. Follow me or we may miss our chance."

"Miss our chance? For what?" Naruto asked, only for the doctor to continue leading them down the hallway and to the next elevator. After looking over his shoulder to the open hallway, he really wished he could perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu or the Transformation jutsu, because then sneaking in there would be a snap.

But alas, it was not so.

* * *

A few minutes and one elevator ride later, and the group came up to a metal door in the middle of an empty hallway. The odd thing out about this door that they came up to was that it was visibly armored, and was laden with security measures. However things got a bit weird when he pressed a button, making a sound like a doorbell.

"**Who is it?" **a voice said through the intercom.

"It's Dr. Aki," he answered. "There are some people I'd like you to meet. Are you available?"

"**Are they more "independent **_**contractors**_**" after my work?"**

"No, no, no contractors. Just some friends of mine," he said waving the voice off.

" **. . . Fine, but my hands are tied at the moment. You'll have to disengage security on your end yourself."**

"Ugh, I hate that he makes me do this _every_ single time," Dr. Aki groaned as he placed his hand on a scanner, raised his glasses and let his eye get scanned, then leveled himself with a mic that folded out of a console. "Travelion."

"**Password: Accepted," **the console spoke in a synthetic voice, the doors raising with a mechanical hiss a moment later.

"Is this guy paranoid or what?" Erika questioned. "Not even the front _gate _had this much security."

"Not paranoid, really. He's just cautious," Dr. Aki said as they entered the lab. "You have to be when we catch at least 20 spies on a slow day."

Said lab was Spartan in decoration with mostly white walls, a bed with white and blue sheets, what looked like the doorway to a small bedroom and a doorway that led to a room with a panoramic-view window with a couch, and a set of dressers. In the back of the room were six tarp-covered cylinders that looked large enough to fit a person in. Aside from that, there were messy work tables, computers, and other lab-related stuff. There was even a small table and a large fridge as well.

"Dr. Aki, who have you decided to bring into my lab?" a figure at the back end of the lab wearing a white labcoat asked, said lab coat having the sleeves bunched up, and the back almost touching the ground. After turning around and faced the group, an eyebrow raising at the sight of a half-dozen children his own age.

Said figure couldn't be any older than Naruto. He had black hair that fell down to his shoulders and covered his ears, an uncharacteristic stark white loch falling over his left eye, both of which were dark green and had a set of rectangular grey wire-rim glasses on them. He wore a black V-neck T-Shirt and khaki shorts. He also had grey and blue-trimmed sneakers with bore the Medabots Corporation emblem on them, which came off as a bit odd.

"Daemon, these are some friends of my latest apprentice," Dr. Aki stated waving at Naruto. "This is Naruto, my apprentice, and his friends Erika, Sam, Spyke, and Sloan. Oh, and of course you know my niece, Karin," he said after motioning to the group.

"Oh, well… Hello everyone," Daemon greeted. "Hello Karin. It's nice to see you again. It's been a while," he said turning to the red-head with a slight bow.

"You're right. It _has _been a while hasn't it?" Karin said with a warm smile.

"You two_ know_ each other?" Erika asked looking between the two of them.

"Well, yes, Karin and I used to be playmates when we were younger," Daemon stated adjusting glasses so you could only see the glare.

"You mean like Koji claimed he was?" Brass asked.

"That irritatingly flamboyant guy who's deathly afraid of spiders?" the designer deadpanned.

"Heheh, yeah, that's him," Naruto chuckled. "I'm getting _so _much mileage out of that."

"Wow. Cool lab. Is it yours?" Metabee suddenly asked as he looked around.

"Nah, it's probably his parent's," Naruto stated offhandedly. "I mean, how could a kid get a lab of his _own_?"

"Actually, this _is _mine," the white-streaked boy said a bit defensively in a peeved tone.

"Wow. How'd you manage that?" Erika asked.

"I work here at the medabot corporation during my independent education, and not that it's any of your business, but I'm currently finalizing a set of medabots I've been designing since I was younger," the boy stated.

"Woah. You're designing medabots?" Naruto asked trying to find them.

"That's right. Daemon Sage took after his parents and is one of the youngest designers we _have _at the Medabots Corporation," Dr. Aki said putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I brought you six here hoping to introduce Daemon to some kids his age. He hasn't left the Medabots Corporation building in ages, so I thought it was about time he made some friends. The workplace isn't really the best place for that, especially when everyone else is a decade his senior at the least."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you all," Daemon said bowing slightly.

"Did you say Daemon _Sage_?" Erika suddenly awed.

"Why? Who's _he_?" Sam asked.

"Don't you know your medabots? His parents designed the CAR-series medabots from the ground up and put them into practical production faster and more cost-effectively than any other in the market up to that _date_," the brunette answered. "Not only that, but they designed the first medabot with the Medachange capability, _which _they've copyrighted. In fact, the submarine medabot Periscope, as well as the flying medabot Femjet were based off those innovations _made _in the Landmotor series. I even hear rumors that there are plans for _other _transforming medabots as well. Like for space exploration."

_Like the one that dropped that package off on my doorstep, _Naruto mused, remembering how that three-legged medabot had suddenly turned into a compact rocket before shooting off into the stratosphere.

"You mean those racecar medabots the Rubberobos used?" Spyke asked.

"Woah, way cool," Metabee awed.

"Yes, my parents were awesome, just don't start calling me _their son, _or else I'm going to lose it," Daemon groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm my own person, and my ability isn't _just _because I'm the son of two famed designers. It's because I work hard. No middle ground."

"Sorry about that," Erika apologized. "I got a bit excited I guess."

"It's no problem," Daemon sighed rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, by the looks of things, you've got your own medabots right? If you want, I can give them a tune-up."

"You can _do _that?" Medabee gaped.

"What do you mean by _tune-up_?" Brass asked.

"Aside from designing and building, I can also do that much," Daemon answered. "Since your medabots still have their initial factory settings, I can fine-tune them to more suit your needs since it's in their scope of ability. Just let me just clear one of my tables, and I'll see what I can do," he said moving over to one of the tables. "It's the least I can do for my new… friends," he finished, acting like the word itself was foreign to him.

"Alright then. Medabots, transport," Erika, Karin, Sam, Spyke, and Sloan said as they pressed the buttons on their medawatches and transported their medabots in five bursts of light.

"Okay you guys, let me just run some diagnostics and-" Daemon said as he turned around from his work table, his eyes suddenly widening when he saw Sam's Peppercat. "Aaaaaaaaahgh!" he cried before suddenly falling to the floor and falling into the fetal position.

"Dr. Aki, did something happen? I heard someone scream," a synthetic voice said from the far room. A moment later a medabot similar to the Landmotor medabot stepped out. I say similar because it was a bit different from the Landmotor medabots in more ways than one.

Said medabot had an aerodynamically-curved chest like a front bumper on a go-cart with a pair of headlights, and while its shoulders had wheels mounted on them like the Landmotor medabot's, its arms weren't perforated barrels, and it had what looked like pedals set into its shoulders as well. Its arms were rectangular blocks with curves on the outsides, and a pair of gun muzzles on each arm above his hands like Metabee's left ar. Its head was designed like the Landmotor's they'd seen before, but more aerodynamically-prioritized, and oddly enough had a steering wheel on the back. On its back was what looked like a folded leather-lined seat. Its legs were similar to the Landmotor that they'd encountered as well, but had wheels set onto the outside of its ankles, and a pair of mufflers mounted on the shins pointing downward.

Its coloration of its chest was red with a white stripe running down the middle, and the coloration of its head was white with blue trim, the steering wheel black with a white console, its visor green. Its arms were checker-patterned with black and white on the front, and red and white on the back. Its legs and stomach were mostly grey and/or black.

"Woah, I've never seen a medabot like _that _before," Cyandog awed.

"Ah! Boss! What happened?" the go cart-styled medabot said running over to the downed Daemon, who was still shaking like a leaft.

"Uh, yeah, I probably should've mentioned that Daemon has a bit of an aversion to CAT-Type medabots," Dr. Aki stated nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Why? What happened?" Naruto asked.

"It isn't my place to go into details, but long story short, Daemon was electrocuted by a CAT-Type medabot at a young age," Dr. Aki answered, causing everyone to gasp. "That's why he has that white streak in his hair. Ever since then, he's been absolutely _terrified_ of CAT-Type medabots."

"What was your _first _clue?" Metabee asked motioning to the quivering mass of pre-teen on the floor, only to get smacked across the back of the head by Naruto a moment later. Behind the others back, Naruto nursed his throbbing hand. For obvious reasons.

"Oh dear, I had no idea," Karin gasped.

"Hey, it isn't _your _medabot he's terrified of. It's _mine_," Sam groaned as she ejected Peppercat's medal and sent the body back home.

"Here you go boss, just take some nice deep breaths and you'll be fine," the car-style medabot said passing Daemon a brown paper back.

After putting it to his mouth and breathing in and out of it for a minute, he got off the floor, put the bag on the table, and straightened his clothing in an attempt to compose himself. "Uh… Sorry you had to see me like that," he apologized.

"Is what Dr. Aki said true? Did you really get attacked by a CAT-Type medabot when you were a kid?" Erika asked.

"Yeah… It is…" Daemon said sadly, Naruto recognizing it as him having something to hide. "I didn't get a good look at the face of the person who did it, but he was big, muscular and was wearing a rubber outfit with two antennae on his head."

"Squidguts!" Naruto, Erika, and Karin gasped.

"Squid-_who_?" Daemon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's one of the main guys in the Rubberobo gang," Naruto explained.

"Well, whoever he is, I'm not sure if it was the guy who attacked me after…" Daemon paused, earning raised eyebrows from the group. "It isn't important," he sighed. "Anyway, Sam, was it, if you're willing to try, I'd like to try and give your Peppercat a tune-up. Since I won't be caught by surprise, I figure I can tolerate her presence. At least for a while."

"Okaaaay, but don't blame me if you freak out again," Sam said bringing up her medawatch. "Transport: Peppercat," she said pressing the button, the CAT-Type medabot appearing in a flash of light.

While Daemon's hand gripped the work table and he took a step back, he didn't have a nervous breakdown, much better than he'd done before. "Okay then… I'm alright. So, want to introduce me to your medabots?" he asked pulling up a chair by the worktable.

"Yo, the name's Metabee. Got it memorized?" Metabee said introducing himself.

"I'm Peppercat," the CAT-Type greeted with a purr, the young designer putting a littled distance between her and himself, but still standing his ground.

"I am Totalizer," the TOT-Type stated.

"I am Cyandog," the DOG-Type greeted formally.

"Hello. My name is Brass. It's nice to meet you," the SLR-Tyep greeted extending her hand to him, the young designer taking the manequin-like hand in his own and giving it a short shake.

"So who's _this _medabot. I don't remember seeing _him _before," Karin said looking at the red, white, and blue car-style medabot.

"Oh, this is Charlie, one of the early prototypes for the first of the CAR series medabots," Daemon stated. "And now that I stop to think about, he's the first medabot to _ever _perform Medachange. Ever."

"I keep hearing the word Medachange, but it doesn't make any sense to me," Metabee stated rubbing his fists into the sides of his head.

"Yeah, can you explain it to us?" Erika asked, a school article on the first transforming medabot ever forming in her mind as she began taking notes.

"Well… How do I describe this…?" Daemon trailed off as he closed his eyes. "Okay, the Medachange isn't something that any medabot can do if they want to. A medabot can only perform the Medachange if they were built _specifically _to perform that action. The Medachange causes the medabot to undergo a physical transformation, though there is a major consequence to performing this action."

"Consequence? Like what?" Sloan asked.

"Well, normally a medabot has Four-Part architecture, hence the ability for the rest of the body to remain intact while only one part is hit by an attack, despite the force behind the attack received, " the white-streaked boy explained. "However, when in Medachange Mode, any damage the medabot in question receives will directly influence its entire structure. That aside, the medabot will be as resistant to damage as it was before. They don't become any stronger or weaker structurally."

"What was your parent's purpose for designing the Medachange function?" Erika asked, having jotted all that down on her notepad.

"Well, the medachange is mostly so a medabot can adapt itself to different terrain and/or environment," Daemon explained. "As an example, Charlie at the moment has bipedal-type legs, giving him versatility for most terrains, though no _real_ advantages that other types provide either. However, when he uses Medachange…" he trailed off as his medabot stepped back before rushing forward.

"Transform!" Charlie said as he leapt into the air.

The first thing that happened was that its chest and head folded backwards 90 degrees, its shoulders sliding inward toward its body as the front tires settled behind the front fender, its hands sliding into its forearms before they pressed into its sides. At the same time, the seat on its back folded back, and its upper legs linked together as its shins folded backwards as well, the bottoms of its feet linking to the back of the seat. At the moment the medabot landed, its wheels had settled down onto the ground, and the mufflers that were once on its shins, but were now behind it, raised out of the casing as the engine revved.

All this happened in a couple seconds.

"He becomes capable of traversing flat and/or smooth surfaces faster than any other leg type," Daemon finished. "And yes, my parents based the Medachange on Transformers. It just proves how ingenious they were to make it actually work."

"Well, there wasn't that much of a change really," Sam said looking at the transformed medabot, which now looked like a go-cart. Especially when the steering wheel on the back of the medabot's head extended from its axis point and a small console lit up. "I mean, all it really did was reposition its body parts."

"Anyone can make anything complicated and call it science," the boy argued. "It takes a real genius to step back and make something that _could _be complicated simple."

"Wow, I never thought of it that way," Metabee said as the prototype CAR-Type transformed back into Robot Form.

"Yep! That's me!" the medabot said as it jabbed its thumb at itself. "Prototype CAR-Type medabot extraordinaire. I even have the Landmotor Jingle memorized."

"A jingle? Oh how charming, can I hear it?" Karin asked.

"Sure thing. Ahem," Charlie said making a sound like he was clearing his throat.

"Charlie, please don't-" Daemon sighed.

"Check out our hotrods. Landmotor medabots got wheels of steel. They're rock and rollin' medabots with twin engines of terror. Go Landmotor!" Charlie cheered as his engine rumbled.

"Charlie, please don't use that jingle. It's a little annoying after the ten thousandth time," Daemon groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry boss," the CAR medabot apologized.

"No harm done," the labcoat-wearing boy sighed before his eyes trailed to the back of the room. "Ah! Don't look under there!" he cried as he yanked Brass away from the tarp on one of the six cases in the back of the room, currently the one on the far left.

"Why? Something top-_secret_ under there?" Erika smirked.

"Yes and no. Five out of six of those medabots don't have their casings on right now. You can see their bare circuits," Daemon stated evenly, his statement causing Brass and Neutranurse to blush, while Peppercat remained neutral on the matter. "Aside from that, they're still top secret, and highly classified."

"Brass, Neutranurse, why're you blushing?" Metabee asked.

"Well, for a medabot, having their casings off is the equivalent to a human being in the nude," Daemon stated as he adjusted his glasses.

"Oh… Oh!... Oh?"

"Don't think too hard. You'll hurt your micro-wafers," Charlie stated.

"Micro-whaters?" Naruto asked.

"A medabot's brains. Micro-wafers are used instead of micro-_chips _because more can be compacted together, and they're easier to produce with M-Alloy, which is more conductive than gold and silicon," Daemon explained.

"Man, you're so far ahead of me," Naruto said as he hugged his knees in a corner with a blue haze and vertical lines hanging over his head.

"Uh… What're those?" Charlie asked.

"I think they're called "Gloom Lines", but I've never seen them manifest themselves in the real world like this," Daemon said rubbing his chin. "Intriguing."

"Enough chit-chat, let's get me a tune-up," Metabee said as he hopped onto the worktable.

"Wow, you really want this don't you?" Naruto asked from his pity corner.

"Heck yeah! A tune-up for a medabot is like an early birthday for humans," Metabee said as he sat on the table.

"Hmmmm. Fascinating. You've developed your own sense of self," Daemon said as he looked Metabee over with a scanner. "I've theorized that the personality hidden in a medal can only be truly brought out in the hands of the right person, but so far I haven't come across enough evidence to prove that hypothesis true. I could possibly win a Nobel Prize in medabots if I brought in the right kind of proof."

_Unless you count my mom's Kyuubi opening up to her like she did. When Metabee and I fought her when she was being ordered around by Seaslug, she was quiet as a grave like a mindless drone and we thought it was a dude, but once her medawatch was in my mom's hands, she suddenly opened up like Brass does to Erika, _Naruto thought.

"Okay then… if you'll get on your stomach and open up your medal chamber, I'll plug my scanner into your maintenance port and see what I can improve on," Daemon said.

"Alright… but if you touch my medal, I'll meta-bee-_bop_ you," the medabot argued as he laid on his stomach.

"You come up with your own lingo. Fascinating," Daemon said as Metabee opened his hatch, and Daemon took a plug from his scanner before plugging it into a hole at the top of Metabee's medal chamber. "Hmmm… Well… I can't say there's that much I can improve on without it being considered illegal by the World Robattle Federation, but what I _can _do is modify your missile's ordinance programming for a slightly quicker launch time."

"Really? Awesome!" Metabee cheered with a glint in his eyes.

"Hey Daemon, you think I could watch?" Naruto asked. "My dream's to work at the Medabot Corporation and design medabots too, so watching you would be a big help."

"I guess. Just make sure I have my elbow room. One wrong move and Metabee might not be able to raise his chin anymore," Daemon said. "Or… you know, fire his Seeker Missiles."

"Say _what_-" Metabee gasped before Charlie grabbed a taser rod from the nearby wall and zapped Metabee, KOing him like a rock. It was a long metal rod made of stainless steel with two prods in it, the end **Y**-shaped with thick metal studs on the ends.

"I hate it when medabots get jumpy," Daemon sighed. "It's hard enough when _Charlie _flails around when I'm repairing or replacing his parts."

"Why is that? Wouldn't it be easier to just get some more off the assembly line?" Spyke asked.

"Charlie weirds out on me because I _can't _do that," Daemon said as he opened up the base of Metabee's horn and took his scanner before plugging it into another port. "Charlie, being a completed _prototype_ of the CAR-Type medabot, never had his medapart specs entered into the medapart production matrix. All of his parts were made by hand before the Landmotor's focus went in its final direction, so when his parts wear down, he has to go under the knife and have his pieces replaced by hand. My parents used to do it for me, but now I have to do it on my own."

"Speaking of which, what _happened _to your parents," Sam said looking around. "There's only one bed, and you said this lab was yours, not your parent's."

" . . . I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe after I get to know some of you better," he said after a minute of fiddling with Metabee's internal workings, then set the plate back onto Metabee's horn. "There you go Metabee. You now have a .10 second reduction on your Seeker Missile's launch time," he said after waking him up with a quick jolt from the taser rod.

"Alright. Let's see then. Up… Down… Left… Right… Diagonal…" Metabee said swiveling his head around. "Missile Launch," he said before his missiles suddenly fired from his horns and slammed into the wall, leaving a black soot-covered smear. "Yep. It's all in order," he said with an eye-smile before he noticed Naruto glaring at him. After looking to the wall, then back to Daemon, he paled a bit. "Uh… Whoops."

" . . . " was Daemon and Charlie's response as they continued to stare at him.

"I'll uh… just go clean that up," Metabee said getting up from the table.

"Cleaning supplies are under the worktable in the corner," Daemon said wiping his hands. "Alright then, who's next?" he asked looking to the other medabots in the room, who were wondering if they'd have to be taser'd like Metabee.

* * *

As Metabee cleaned the soot marks on the steel reinforced walls, which the group found out was a necessity in most labs with the probability of weapon misfires, Daemon got to work on Erika's Sailorscout medabot, Brass. There wasn't much that could be done for her weapons since she was designed more as a domestic-use medabot rather than a combat based, but he was able to increase her micro-wafer's overall memory with a small implant, increasing her processing speed. The slightly more intelligent air about her would wear off as her medal acclimated to the additional processing power.

After a brief cracker break, Daemon then got to work on Spyke's Cyandog. Since the medabot in question had a grappling-based medal in a shooting-based body, which he found a bit weird but chose to ignore, the only thing he could really do was tune the targeting matrix to over-compensate for the blatantly poor marksmanship of the mismatched medabot. In other words widen the digital crosshair and randomize the shots to hopefully increase his accuracy.

Then it came time for Sloan's Totalizer. Since Daemon hadn't completed lessons in laser-type weaponry, which was Totalizer's forte, Daemon adjusted the torque on the medabot's hover-type legs to increase his turning ability by 20%. This would help him corner better in fast-paced robattles.

When it came to Peppercat's tune-up, it took Daemon a few seconds to get used to the CAT-Type's presence in such close proximity, but after she promised not to electrocute him, the young designer got to work. After a short diagnostics, Daemon was able to calibrate Peppercat's energy conductors to her claws, giving them an additional 15% probability of causing what would be described as "critical" damage.

Then, last but not least was Karin's Neutranurse.

* * *

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Karin asked as Neutranurse hung her legs over the side of the table, Daemon performing diagnostics on her.

"Well… I guess you could pass me the tools I ask for, wipe my forehead if I need it," Daemon answered with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks as Karin sat right next to him.

"Okay then. Just tell me what to do," Karin said with a warm smile, causing Spyke and Sloan to watch in awe while Sam shot them dirty looks, and Naruto laughed a bit at their antics.

* * *

"Aaaaalright then," Daemon said as he set Neutranurse's forehead bolt back into place a while later. "I've done all I can for now with the equipment I have. I could do more and it still be legal, but I'd have to dedicate more time to study her unique energy matrix."

"Unique? I thought medabots of like type were universal," Cyandog stated.

"In the beginning that's true, but as time goes by, the medabot's parameters change to accommodate their medafighter's robattle style, as well as the unique aspects of each medal," Dr. Aki explained. "Much like with people. Even _twins _don't think exactly alike, though they start off similarly at an early age."

"So what was it you did to Karin's Neutranurse?" Erika asked.

"I increased the power of her Neutrawall, as well as the efficiency of the transfer of energy between her M-Alloy and the forcefield generator," Daemon answered as he cleaned his hands. "Need some help getting up. The tune-up to your chassis may've disoriented you a bit."

"Don't worry, I can still walk," Neutranurse said as she hopped off the table.

"Hey, why'd _I _have to get on my belly, but the other medabots could still _sit_?" Metabee demanded.

"Because I needed you in a position where you'd be less likely to lash out at the drop of a pin," Daemon explained taking a cautionary step back from Metabee as though he himself were some sort of explosive device. "KBT-Types tend to be a little… unstable. That's why there aren't that many varieties."

"KEKEKEKEKE! I! AM NOT! UNSTAB-"

**TZZZZZZZ!**

The kabuto-style medabot was then taser'd by the prototype CAR medabot, dropped to the ground in a slightly smoldering heap of metal.

"Like I said. Unstable," Daemon stated. "Where'd you even find him anyway? An antique store?"

"More like the back room of the local Hop Mart," Naruto answered as he grabbed the medabot and threw him over his shoulder, his knees bending a bit. "Of course, I'm actually pretty happy about it. Things are never boring with Metabee around."

"More than I can say for here. Aside for the occasional spy bust, weapons misfire, or someone tripping in the cafeteria or a chemical spill, not much happens here at the Medabots Corporation," Daemon sighed as he went to his fridge and pulled out a soda. "Thanks for letting me work on your medabots guys. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to work on a medabot I'm not familiar with."

"Hey kids, I just remembered something I wanted to show you," Dr. Aki said looking down at his watch. "Come with me. We've still got a tour to finish, and I can just _tell _this will knock your socks off," he said leading the group out of the lab, stopping at the doorway when he noticed that Daemon had yet to move from his spot by the fridge. "Aren't you coming Daemon?"

"Um… I'm just nervous about being out of my comfort zone I suppose," the designer sighed ashamedly as he poked his head out the doorway, looking left and right with his body more tense than a piano string.

"Don't worry Daemon, everything will be okay," Karin said walking over and taking the white-streaked boy's hand before leading him out of the lab, a slight tinge of pink on the boy's cheeks while a chuckling Charlie got into his vehicle mode and rolled out of the lab.

"_Five to one says Koji would be _furious _seeing Karin holding Daemon's hand," _Naruto chuckled.

"_Don't you know it," _Erika chuckled in return as they were led down the hallway and to another lab, Karin holding a nervous Daemon's hand all the while.

* * *

"Alright kids, here we are," Dr. Aki said pushing open a thick steel door, like the kind on a submarine. When everyone looked in, their jaws dropped at where they'd ended up.

Instead of being inside the Medabot Corporation building, they were now in a massive desert area. The sky had partial cloud coverage, there was some desert fauna scattered here and there, and there were even a few pieces of cinderblock wall. In the distance you could see mighty plateaus, and the air was hot and dry.

"Are we still in the building?" Erika asked.

"It is doubtful, since an entire climate fitting inside a building would be a stretch, even by _any _form of the imagination," Brass stated intelligently waving her finger around.

"Look! Over there!" Neutranurse said pointing into the distance.

"It's an army of medabots," Karin cried as a line of green-armored Tankar rolled in, their wheels making the dust beneath their treads rise into the air as they pushed forward, numbering in an entire platoon with weapons raised.

"Yeah. And they don't look friendly either," Spike whimpered as he hid behind his medabot.

"What's going on here?" Metabee asked as he looked around. "And where the heck did the door go?" he cried looking behind himself, only seeing more desert in the distance.

"Eh hahahahaha hahaha!" Dr. Aki laughed as though he were insane, the group hiding behind some of the cinderblock wall as the BMT-Type medabots continued to head for them. As Dr. Aki cackled on top of a small rock outcropping, The Screws and their medabots hid behind one wall, and Karin hid alongside Naruto and Erika and their medabots.

Surprisingly enough though, Daemon just had his hands in his pockets as he adjusted his glasses, Charlie doing nothing in particular.

"What're you doing out in the open?" Erika cried as she yanked the boy off his feet and behind the wall.

"Naruto, what do we do?" Karin asked.

"Don't worry, I'll think of something," Naruto said as his mind raced, through both battleplans and his part rosters. _Crap! No matter how I look at it, or what parts I equip Metabee with, we're still outnumbered eight to one, _he thought counting the number of medabots, but suddenly cursing himself as he noticed even _more _Tankar coming towards them. _We're going to need something to tip the scales into our favor. But what? WHAT? And why is Dr. Aki cackling like a madman? _he wondered looking over to the doctor, seemingly without fear.

A moment later, a circle opened in the ground, a mean-looking mystery medabot rose from the ground between the two groups, its body slumped and impassive.

Said medabot was colored primarily white and ebony, bearing thin purple cylinder-shaped studs on its arms, hips, neck, and feet. It had a white face and red visor with a prominent forehead and a white horn pointing straight up, the back of its head colored black and sporting two horns. It hand a pipe connecting from where its mouth would be to a valv in its chest, which had a white plate on the front connected to another leading to its waist, a gas cylinder on its back. It had wing-like protrusions on its shoulders, and large club-like fists, similar to Baron's Banisher, but without the spikes, and its legs were shaped like a goat's, its shins and waist colored ebony while its thighs and feet were colored white.

"Woah, who's _that _medabot?" Metabee asked as the new mystery medabot rose from the ground.

"I don't know, but he isn't coming towards us, and that's all I need to know right now," Naruto said as he finished pressing in the codes on his medawatch. "Transfer medaparts!" he called out before pressing the watch face down, Metabee's right arm and legs glowing before they were replaced with the Bombarder and Twirl medaparts.

"I understand the Bombarder, but why that weirdo's Twirl?" Metabee asked as he looked at himself, getting used to the four sensations of ground beneath his feet and wiggling his tail.

"Because those Tankars casings aren't just for show, you'll need every advantage you can get," Naruto explained. "Now go back him up before those things open fire on us!"

"Um, actually Naruto, this is all-" Dr. Aki started weakly, only for-

"Missile Barrage!" Metabee shouted as he began strafing around the enemy's left flank, firing off a storm of missiles from his right arm, punching a hole in the middle of the line of military-style medabots, a few of them being sent flying into the air as the attacks kicked up dust.

As for the mystery medabot, it rushed into the enemy's formation right as Metabee's missile reserves emptied as it shouted "DESTROOOOOY!", and nearly everyone's jaws dropped when its massive fists started sending the Tankars down in pairs, their medals, as well as pieces of their bodies, flying through the air as their owners fell to the ground in crushed heaps of metal. All the while, the medabot didn't seem intimidated by the numbers in the least, as it only continued to growl or roar like a savage berserker from the days of old.

"Okay, they're all down, and just in time," Naruto said looking down at his medawatch. "Metabee's out of ammo."

"Um, Naruto, I _probably _should've mentioned that this is actually a simulation," Dr. Aki stated from his rock.

"Simulation?" Naruto blanched.

"Yes, and your medabot just jumped into the middle of it and blew a third of it into hell," Daemon added in.

"Really? A third? I thought I got just a little under half," Metabee commented.

"Um, guys, I think the crazy-strong medabot is angry at us," Brass said timidly as she backed up.

"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked.

"He's coming right this way," Erika stated blandly, the "crazy-strong" medabot heading towards them, its red visor gleaming against the wilderness setting. The intimidating waves it was giving off was enough to hide the fact that its fists had huge cracks running through them. Had the mystery medabot fought those Tankars on its own, they probably would've broken straight down to the tinpet.

" . . . Everybody scatter! Metabee! Strafe as if your life depended on it! Because I think it kind of does!" Naruto cried as he grabbed Erika's hand and ran in a random direction away from the crazed medabot. "Sorry Dr. Aki. After everything that's been happening involving medabots, I guess I was a bit jumpy," the blond then apologized after he and Erika leapt behind a portion of wall.

"No, I probably should've warned you," Dr. Aki sighed as Metabee strafed away in the background, Belzelga chasing after him, only for his feet to catch in the sand, while the KBT continued to skirt away. "I guess the sight of a line of army-style medabots coming towards you with guns drawn was a bit misleading."

"Yeah, but what do we do now? You _saw _what that thing did to those Tankar. It chewed them up and spit them back out," Erika said before looking over the wall. "Oh great, what're they doing _now_?" she asked as Sam, Peppercat, Sloan, and Totalizer got in front of the medabot. Spyke and Cyandog could be seen huddling together behind a rock, the points on both their heads sticking up.

"Peppercat! Get in there and take him down!" Sam shouted.

"Right!" Peppercat shouted as she ran at the medabot with claws sparking, only for her foot to catch in the sand at an inopportune moment, the undeclared type rounding on her and sending the CAT-Type flying with a single punch. "Nyaaao!"

**Right Arm 100% Damage. Function Ceased.**

"Oh no! Peppercat!" the brunette cried.

"Don't worry, I've got your back!" Sloan said pointing at the medabot. "Totalizer! Get him!"

"Got it!" Totalizer shouted as it fired its laser at the medabot, only clipping the tip of the fin off its left shoulder before it struck him at the side of his legs. "Guaaagh!"

**Legs 100% Damage. Function Ceased.**

"Metabee! Draw that medabot away from the others wile I think of a plan!" Naruto shouted.

"Too late. He's already found his next target," Dr. Aki said glumly.

"Erika!" Brass gasped as the medabot loomed over her a moment later, its visor glowing ominously against the dusty desert background.

"Brass! Get out of there!" Erika cried as she tried to get over there, only for Naruto to pull her back.

"Erika, don't go, it's too dangerous," Naruto cried as he pulled her back to his chest and tried to stop her flailing as the medabot raised its fist in the air.

Before the medabot could strike Brass down however, the deep bellow of a semi-truck horn playing La Cucaracha reverberated through the desert air, everyone's eyes turning to the other side of the dusty plain, a pair of bright headlights speeding towards the medabot towering over Brass. A moment later however, it was revealed as Daemon riding on Charlie's back in Vehicle Mode.

"What on Earth is he _doing_?" Metabee wondered.

"What on Earth am I do_iiiiiiiiiiing_!" Daemon cried as Charlie suddenly hit a bump in the road, sending his driver flying through the air as he continued to barrel towards the crazy-strong medabot.

"Brass! Get out of the way!" Charlie shouted, the feminine medabot rolling backwards just as the medabot's fist impacted the ground where she was a moment ago. A moment later the Lu Cacaracha semi-truck horn played again as the medabot barreled into the other, sending it flying high into the air.

A moment later it slammed into the ground with a loud crack, a circle of dust rising up from where it landed. Before the medabot could get up however, the air-born designer suddenly pulled out the Taser Rod he used on Metabee before from the depths of his labcoat before planting his feet beside the medabot's waist and bringing it down into its face, causing it to convulse wildly for a few seconds before it finally stopped.

"A crazed medabot _*pant* _running on the loose outside a controlled situation. _*pant* _Is it Tuesday al_ready_?" Daemon asked as he wiped his forehead, the wilderness setting suddenly _disappearing_ in the form of a white-walled chamber with rounded walls. The only thing that remained the same was the ground, which still looked like a desert's floor.

"Woah. It's just like the Danger Room on the X-Men," Sam awed as she looked around the room.

A moment later, a group of scientists bringing in what looked like an upgraded luggage carrier before bringing the downed medabot onto it, one of them picking up the pieces of the medabot's face from the ground before placing it in his pocket.

"Well… It isn't really how we planned it," one scientist said as they took note of the medabot's arms, taking notes on their clipboard. "However the… unforeseen variables gave us a lot of real-world data."

"Did you _really _have to taze Belzelga this much?" another asked.

"Hey, you should've brought that crazy thing under control _sooner_," Daemon argued as he compacted the taser rod before sticking it in his inside pocket.

"Hey uh… sorry about that," Naruto apologized to the staff with a slight bow.

"_*Sigh* _It's no problem. These things happen. Just not that often," the scientist sighed. "However your… misinterpretation _did _give us some unique data that I really appreciate. If you're ever in the market for any Tankar's parts, I'd be willing to cut you a discount," the man said passing Naruto a card, showing him as one of the contributors to Tankar's construction.

"Wow, thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Naruto said with a smile as he pocketed the card.

"Well, you kids must be starving. How about we stop by the cafeteria?" Dr. Aki asked, the others nodding in appreciation as they picked up their medabots.

"Uncle, are _you _buying us lunch?" Karin asked.

"No need. The cafeteria gives away free complimentary crackers, _and _ketchup," the frugal man stated.

"Cheapskate," Erika groaned, along with the others.

"Don't worry. Lunch is on _me _today," Daemon said interrupting the moaning. "Ever since I put down that crazed 7 Up machine a few months back, I get discounts on the cafeteria food. I think today's menu is pizza and ramen."

"Yay! Pizza!" The Screws cheered.

"Yay! Ramen!" Naruto cheered. Some things never change.

"Hey uh, Daemon, think I could get some miso with pork?" Dr. Aki asked leaning toward's Daemon's ear.

"Didn't you know? The cafeteria gives away free complimentary crackers _and_ ketchup," the white-streaked boy said as he walked away with his new friends.

"Oh what do I know. It's all a matter of context," the doctor said following behind the group of happy pre-teens.

At the same time however after Metabee got his original parts, he separated himself from the group to take care of a little piece of business.

"Yo! Buddy!" Metabee called out to one of the scientists around Belzelga, now back to his normal configuration.

"Oh no!" the guy panicked upon seeing Metabee.

"I got a bone to pick with you!" he shouted clenching his fist.

"Uh, what?"

"You_ ran _into me, and you didn't even say sorry! That _really _sizzles my circuits!" he shouted as he flailed his arms about wildly. "Medabots have feelings _too _you know! You got to-AAAAAAAH!" he shrieked as he was suddenly zapped with the same type of taser rod from before, only a large and bulkier, less streamlined model. This time by a scientist who had just come into the room.

"Hey, where'd _this _clunky piece of scrap metal come from?" he asked as Metabee convulsed on the ground. "He shouldn't be in the lab."

Meanwhile the other scientists sweatdropped, seeing how their colleague missed the update by something as simple as a bathroom brake.

At the same time elsewhere, back with the group, as they was halfway to the cafeteria, Brass suddenly noticed one set of footsteps too few.

"Hey, where'd Metabee go?"

"Oh great, he's lost. And I was looking forward to having some ramen too," Naruto groaned with crossed arms. "I'll be right back. I think I remember which direction the lab is in."

"Naruto, wait, you don't know your way around here!" Dr. Aki pleaded, only for the blond to have already shot off in a blur. "I'm getting too old for this. Daemon, get everyone to the cafeteria and buy them a soda or something. I'll be right back," he said before running off after Naruto.

"Dr. Aki seemed upset," Karin said worriedly. "Do you know why Daemon?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was something from during your tour," the white-streaked boy shrugged.

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto had found himself at the end of the hallway through "Door Number Two". The hallway was still lit a dim red, but right in front of him was a thick metal door. Even thicker than the door to Daemon's lab, though with massive cranks and handles.

"I thought I'd find you here," Dr. Aki said as he came into Naruto's line of sight.

"Why's that?" the blond asked.

"Because I told you to stay out," the man said sternly.

" . . . Rare medals. Is that what's behind this door," the blond asked, catching the man off guard.

"How do you know about the rare medals?" he then asked with crossed arms.

"I don't. I only know their presence seems to motivate people like the Phantom Renegade, and the Rubberobos into action," the blond answered. "I've heard conspiracy theories about how they supposedly hold the power to control the world."

" . . . I can't just _tell _you about the rare medals," Dr. Aki said adamanetly.

"And why is that? In case you'd forgotten, Karin almost lost Neutranurse for _good_ because the Rubberobos thought that _she _possessed a _rare_ medal," the blond argued back. "The Phantom Renegade also said that he'd come after Metabee's medal, and Rokusho's as well. If he _does _take them, then Metabe and Rokusho will be gone for good!"

" . . . "

"What is it about these medals that drives people to do stuff like this?" Naruto asked as he stepped toward the man and away from the door. "If I don't know what it is about the rare medal that the Phantom Renegade or the Rubberobos are after, I might end up losing my best friend to them. That's why I need you to tell me about the rare medals. If not for me, then for my medabot. And for anyone else who might lose their medabot too."

"Naruto, I couldn't tell you about the rare medals even if I _wanted_ to," the man argued back. "There are things that even _I _don't know about the rare medals."

Before the blond could press the man on the matter further however, alarms started going off through the air, Dr. Aki and Naruto's head shooting up before they started running back to the man hallway.

"What's going on? Did someone get caught?" Naruto asked as the two entered the hallway beside the tinpet production line, his hand going over his eyes as they adjusted to the light.

"**Dr. Aki! Belzelga's been stolen!" **a voice cried over the monitor.

"Metabee and I seem like magnets for trouble. I'll see if he knows anything," the blond said tapping into his medawatch. "Metabee! Someone's made off with the Belzelga prototype! Is there anything weird happening on your end?"

"**Yeah! It's Seaslug! He's here and he just made off with Belzelga and it's medal!" **Metabee said from the medawatch.

"Don't lose him!" the blond orded.

"**Too late," **Metabee cursed as the sound of metal hitting metal came from the medawatch.

"Where's he headed to? Do you have any idea?"

"**Yeah! He's heading for the roof, and I just ran into the others! Get up to the roof as fast as you can!"**

"Got it!" Naruto said before shutting off the feed. "Dr. Aki, I won't press you for details if you really don't want me to, but you need to consider the consequences of me _not _knowing."

" . . . I'll think on it. For now, let's catch that thief," Dr. Aki said pulling Naruto through a closing elevator door before heading to the roof

* * *

Naruto and Dr. Aki were the first ones to get to the roof, and though he couldn't tell what had happened before, he recognized the similarity between now, and when Shrimplips and Gillgirl made off with Neutranurse. A deep bellowing from the heavens, lightning, and what must've been a lightning strike according to the sound. When he got out however, he saw the same scientist from before that had bumped into Metabee, now on his hands and knees, Belzelga's back empty and its medal off to the side.

_Geez! Why didn't I recognize him? _Naruto berated himself.

"I was so sure… So sure that…" Seaslug droned on.

A moment later the door to the roof from the stairs opened, Metabee, Erika, Karin, Daemon, and The Screws running out onto the roof, as well as the staff from the simulation room earlier.

"Mr. Tunahead," the female scientist from before, who Daemon knew as Ms. Caviar, called out. "Why'd you do it Mr. Tunahead? If there's something that's upsetting you, why didn't you just come and talk to me."

" . . . I couldn't do that," Seaslug, AKA Mr. Tunahead said looking up from the ground. "You're the reason I'm so upset."

"Wha- Why me?" she asked.

"Because… you made me fall in love with you, but it'll never happen, so now there's nothing left for me but _evil_!" he cackled as he rose from the ground.

"Mr. Tunahead there's no reason to be evil. Just return the medabot," Ms. Caviar pleaded. "After the security guys and the police and the courts get through with you, everything will be okay. I promise."

"Hahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he cackled in return as the sound of helicopter blades rung through the air.

"Seaslug, your mission's been scrapped, come with us," Gillgirl said from a helicopter that suddenly came down.

At the moment Naruto spotted Squidguts up there with her, he pulled Daemon over before pointing at the huge guy in the helicopter. "Daemon, is _that _the guy who attacked you?"

"Hmmm… No, that isn't him. The guy who gave me _this _was different," Daemon said running his fingers over the white loch in his hair before letting it fall back over his eye, seeming to act independent from the rest of his hair.

"Mr. Tunahead, who _are _those weird people?" Ms. Caviar asked.

"Hmhmhmhm, _no_, my name is _not _Tunahead," he said yanking his entire outfit off from his right shoulder, putting him back in his rubber outfit down to the hood. "It's _Seaslug_, of the Rubberobo Gang!" he growled, causing Ms. Caviar to gasp. "Now attack Belzelga, and destroy all of them!"

The next moment there was a loud clanking sound, and everyone turned to the side to see an air vent kicked out. A moment later the familiar moustach'd figure of Mr. Referee emerged.

"I declare this match an official robattle!" he announced as he shook the grate off his foot, which he'd kicked through it prior to his entrance.

"Hey, what happened to the _submission _part?" Erika asked.

"Since that medabot's type has yet to be entered into the World Robattle Federation's database, it si ineligible for submission robattles," Mr. Referee explained. "Anyway, _*Ahem* _Medafighters ready? Medabots… ROBATTLE!"

"What do we do Naruto?" Erika asked.

"We take that thing down before it can do too much damage, all of us together," Naruto said raising his medawatch. "Metabee! Let him have it!"

A moment later however, Belzelga suddenly rushed at the KBT-Type and decked him.

**Left Arm 100% Damage. Function Ceased.**

"Rrrgh! What's with this guy?" Metabee growled as his left arm hung uselessly at his side. "That thing knocked out my arm in one hit!"

"That's Belzelga's focus. A Destroy-Type medabot," Daemon answered.

"_Destroy_-Type?" Karin asked.

"Yes. Belzelga packs more power in his arms than most do in all their medaparts," the white-streaked designer said as the light shone on his lenses. "However…" he said seeing the cracks forming on the medabots forearms. "That great power doesn't come without consequence."

"Ah hahahaha! Good work Belzelga! Keep up the destruction!" Seaslug shouted, the medabot decking Metabee again before he could even get up.

**Legs 100% Damage. Function Ceased.**

"Brass! Get out of there!" Erika shouted, only for medabot to take the hit.

**Left Arm 60% Damage.**

**Right Arm. 70% Damage.**

"Neutrawall!" Karin shouted as Neutranurse stepped in front of the next attack, the crest on her forehead projecting a clear wall of energy, pink lightning arcing out from it instead of the usual black.

However, the attack didn't have the desired effect, as Belzelga was able to pull back before his arms was completely destroyed. There were however several large cracks across its right arm up to where the elbow would be.

"Karin, this tune-up is amazing! I hardly had to use any energy at all for that move!" Neutranurse said in awe.

"You should really be thanking Daemon," the red-head said with a warm smile as she turned to the white-streaked boy.

"I-It was nothing," the white-streaked boy stated. "Charlie! Hit him with your Multi-Bullet!"

"Firing Multi-Bullet!" Charlie shouted as placed one arm atop the other before he fired an attack similar to Metabee's Laser Cannon, only with both arms.

"Don't just take that Belzelga! Finish him!" Seaslug shouted, Belzelga running through and around the gunfire.

"Charlie! Use Medachange and take evasive action!" Charlie shouted, his medabot twisting on his heel before transforming into Vehicle Mode and riding away just as Belzelga's left fist slammed into the roof.

"Spyke! Let's test out Cyandog's new aim!" Charlie shouted as his medabot drove circles around Belzelga.

"Right!" the spiky-haired kid returned. "Cyandog! Take shotgun and get some hits in!"

"Come again?" Daemon and Charlie cried as Cyandog hopped onto the prototype CAR medabot's back as though he were riding a skateboard before taking aim. After firing off a few rounds, half them hitting, Belzelga suddenly drove its fist down into the roof, creating a fissure that sent Charlie and Cyandog flying through the air and over the edge of the roof.

"Charlie/Cyandog!" Daemon and Spyke cried as they ran over to the side of the roof, thankful that their medabots hadn't fallen, Cyandog holding onto Charlie's ankle for dear life as he held onto some of the railing.

"Oh no! Belzelga's heading right for them!" Spyke shouted as the destructive medabot started heading for the incapacitated medabots. One hit in that position and they'd be through.

"Oh no you don't! Peppercat! Get in there!" Sam ordered.

"Right boss!" Peppercat shouted as she zig-zagged toward Belzelga, her right arm flailing before she raked her left claws across the tank on the medabot's back, only to be backhanded across the roof with the right hand, the CAT's medal falling out a moment later.

"Oh no! Peppercat!" Sam cried as her medabot went down.

"I'll back you up!" Sloan said as he pushed Totalizer into the field, his legs still disabled. "Totalizer! Fire your lasers!"

"Right…" Totalizer droned, lifting his half-damaged arms and firing a barrage of lasers at Belzelga, only for the medabot to swerve around them before striking the TOT-Type down too.

"Metabee, we've got too many down!" Naruto shouted as Brass moved him over to the side of the water tower and propped him up against it.

"Don't… worry about me… I can still fight," Metabee said before turning to Brass. "I'm too tired to lift my arm, but my parts still work. You'll have to do the aiming for me."

"You got it Metabee," Brass said lifting the medabot's arm up and taking aim with it, her processors taking into account the use of a different weapon and Belzelga's potential weakpoints. "Fire!" she shouted as she leveled the weapon at Belzelga's left shoulder, Metabee's Revolver barrel spurting out a trio of shots at the medabot's shoulder before its attention suddenly turned to them.

"It's still coming!" Brass shouted, Neutranurse getting in front of them and spreading her arms in preparation for her Neutrawall.

"Don't worry, I've got your backs," the NAS-Type said before casting her protective wall around them, Belzelga's right arm shattering revealing its tinpet underneath before it raised its remaining arm and chopped down on the barrier, causing it to fluctuate.

"Oh no! Neutranurse!" Karin cried as her medawatch showed her medabot's energy reserves still dropping from the destructive force of the attacks.

"Here Nurse! Use this!" Daemon shouted throwing the Taser Rod he used on Metabee to the pink and white medabot at the moment her barrier dropped, and Belzelga had reared its fist back for the next attack.

"Right Daemon! Taser Rod!" she shouted as she crammed the twin shafts into its chest, causing it to step backward a few paces. The next moment she and Brass stepped to the sides as Metabee leveled his head at the renegade medabot.

"Kiss your bot goodbye!" he shouted. "Missile Launch!" he shouted firing off his missiles, faster than normally though only noticeable to him, at the medabot and knocking it back. A moment later it collapsed, and its Devil medal leapt out of its back before clattering onto the ground.

"Function Ceased!" Mr. Referee announced. "However, due to direct influence from outside the match, it will have to be counted as invalid."

"Winning an official robattle was never the point in the first place," Daemon sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "Also… How'd you get past security?"

"Hey, how'd you get up here!" a security guard demanded coming onto the roof a moment later, pointing a finger accusingly at the referee.

"Uh oh, I'll have to take my leave a bit sooner than expected," Mr. Referee said running for the duct he came in from.

"Hey! Get back here!" the man shouted as Mr. Referee suddenly jumped back into the air duct, wriggling his way back in before anyone could grab him.

* * *

After the battle had ended, Seaslug and Ms. Caviar seemed to be having some sort of conversation. However, since the group didn't know that Seaslug was even there, they naturally didn't know what they were talking about. After the conversation ended, Seaslug left in the helicopter, and was out of sight within seconds.

"Man, that thing just didn't want to give up," Metabee groaned as he got back to his feet, which were now the _Twirl's _since his original legs were still damaged.

"Yeah. But who'd be in the market for something like _that_?" Erika asked, looking down at her camera sadly at the reminder that she'd forgotten to take any pictures during the robattle. Then again, even if she did, her camera would probably be confiscated.

"Who knows. People use medabots for all sorts of reasons, and not just robattling," Naruto said looking at the downed medabot as it was carried away on a gurney.

"Yeah. Bit I doubt anyone would want Belzelga anywhere near fine china," Daemon stated.

"Hey, speaking of medabots, what will _yours _be like?" Naruto asked.

" . . . I can't say much without violating my confidentiality agreement," Daemon said after looking to Dr. Aki. "But what I can say is that there isn't anything like them right now."

"Well _that _tells us next to nothing," Sam groaned as she carried Peppercat in her arms, Sloan pushing Totalizer on a gurney.

"Hey, at least I had no intention of building a monster like Belzelga," the white-streaked boy argued.

"Thanks heavens for that," Brass sighed as she helped Metabee along.

"Anyway…" Daemon said trying to lighten up the mood. "Now that the crisis has been averted, how'd you like some lunch before heading home?" he suggested, then looked around and noticed someone missing. _Hey, where'd Dr. Aki go?_

Little did he know that the good doctor was busy speaking with none other than the Phantom Renegade, concerning the fate of the Rare Medals.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
The characters Daemon Sage and the CAR-Type Medabot Charlie are both OCs owned by me. They'll be used in this story to mix things up a bit. A little variety helps in this kind of story, and I want to change some things from the anime plotline.**

**I'd also like to thank Negima Uzumaki for helping me make this chapter more vibrant. Thanks for the great ideas!**

**More medabots. More power.**


	17. Masterful Theft and Attack on Rosewood

It was the following Monday after Naruto's trip to the Medabot Corporation building. After having asked around a bit, he'd found out that Seaslug had been disguising himself as a man named Mr. Tunahead, and that… well…

Actually, he didn't know anything apart from_ that_. He only saw the guy once at the lobby, but only for a few seconds, and then on the roof with the stolen medabot.

However, even though he didn't know what had happened, he had an inkling that it had to do with rare medals. His logic, from the sights he was greeted with, and the sounds from before.

Like with Shrimplips when he and Gillgirl stole Karin's Neutranurse thinking she had a rare medal, there was a deep booming sound from the sky, like an angry voice raging at someone, a strike of lightning, or at least the sound, and then dark spiraling storm clouds even though the sky had been perfectly clear _before _he went in the medabot corporation building.

_I _swear _that was someone's _voice _booming at Seaslug, _Naruto thought to himself in class the next day.

"**Naruto Tenryo, Naruto Tenryo. You have a call at the office from some girl named… Karin Junlei, in the office. Will you take the call?" **the voice of Samurai said over the intercom.

"Karin, what could _she _be calling about?" Erika asked. "And on a school day at that."

"I don't know, but I'll find out," Naruto said getting up after excusing himself from the room. A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps suddenly came down the hallway before he suddenly barreled back into the room, looking like he'd just run a mile. "Erika! Grab your camera! Something's happened at the Medabot Corporation!"

"Why? What happened?" Erika asked after excusing herself and following the blond, leaving a confused class.

"I'll explain on the way, I just have to drop my bag off at home," Naruto said as they passed the school gate before he pressed a button on his medawatch. "Metabee, do you read me? Grab that order form you made out and meet me in the front yard. Looks like you'll be getting that Armor Car medapart sooner than later."

"**You got it! Just let me finish sweeping the steps!" **Metabee said from the other end, causing Naruto to deadpan and nearly trip mid-run.

"Brass, get the camera and recording equipment! I think I smell a scoop!" Erika said into her medawatch.

"**You got it Ms. Erika," **Brass returned.

* * *

One train ride and personal escort later courtesy of Dr. Aki, and Naruto found himself back at Daemon's personal laboratory from the day before, Erika at his side with camera in hand and Brass carrying the boom mic. Metabee was at the requisitions desk getting an order filled out from earlier.

Everything was mostly the same, except for one key element that had been bugging him since yesterday. The tarp-covered cylinders in the back of the room. Or to be more exact, the one on the far left, now uncovered and shattered with nothing inside.

With what happened yesterday, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. One of Daemon's prototype medabots had been stolen, and by what the white-streaked boy had said when Brass tried to get a sneak peek beneath the tarp, it was the one that had its casings on.

Moreso, with Medabot Corporation's security as it was, whoever did this must've been some sort of genius. And not just because they were able to get through the tight security, but because they also knew exactly what to take.

At the side was Daemon sitting on his bed, sans the lab coat, Karin at his side tending to his head injury by replacing the bandages.

"Daemon, what happened?" Erika asked getting her recorder and running up to Daemon while Brass got the video camera in position to get an "official statement".

"What does it look like?" he said irritatingly. "Someone came through here and stole my only completed Elemental Series medabot!"

"Daemon, you need to calm down," Karin pleaded as she tied the end of Daemon's head bandages, sweetly resembling a bow over his right ear. "You'll only agitate your injury. Please calm down."

"What happened here, and how did you come about that head injury?" Erika asked bringing the recorder within spitting distance of his mouth.

"What does it look like? I was attacked!" he growled. "But he way, nice dog," he said looking to the ground calmer than before.

"Dog?" Naruto questioned before following Daemon's gaze to his side. "Salty? How'd you get here boy?" Naruto asked as he pet the scruffy-looking dog, his tail wagging back and forth.

"Wait! This will work out better than expected!" Erika said with a gleam in her eye. "Salty can investigate the crime scene and track who did this!"

"Erika, our investigative bureau already checked things out, I don't think your dog's going to find-" Dr. Aki stared before-

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" the dog shouted after sniffing around the broken case. The case itself had a line of yellow tape around it, and the glass had already been cleaned away.

"What is it boy? You got a scent?" Naruto asked with his hands on his knees.

"Woof!" the dog returned before he started sniffing around the room. After a few minutes of sniffing around the room, he suddenly placed his paws on Daemons knees before barking loudly.

"_*Gasp* _Daemon, _you _did this?" Erika asked.

"Of course not," the boy argued.

"Then why'd Salty go straight to _you_?" Naruto asked pointing a finger at him accusingly.

"Maybe because this is _MY _lab! Or, maybe it's because I _LIVE HERE_!" Daemon shouted getting up from his seat on the bed and pushing Naruto back, only for his hands to go to his head a moment later. "Ooooogh! My aching head!"

"Daemon, you need to sit down," Karin pleaded, placing him back on his bed and putting a bag of ice on the side of his head.

"Sorry Karin. I'm just a bit aggravated right now," Daemon groaned. "I don't know if it's just the headache, having my medabot stolen, or the fact that the guy used my _head _to break open the casing," he groaned as he rubbed his head.

"How awful," Erika gasped. "How bad on a scale of one to ten do you feel?" she asked bringing the recorder up to him again.

"Hey guys! Check out my wheels of steel!" Metabee said suddenly rolling into the lab, his legs replaced with Tankar's leg parts, Armor Car. "I even got this cool car horn to go with it," he said pressing a button on the front of his chassis, the Dukes of Hazard song playing on a car horn from one of the slots. "Hey, what happened? Did someone die?" he asked looking around the lab, everyone glaring at him, Daemon especially.

"**Dr. Aki, there's some kid out here by the name of Koji Karakuchi, claiming he's your apprentice," **the security guard known as Hikaru said over the intercom. **"Should I throw him and his medabot out on their asses, or through the garbage chute?"**

* * *

"Karin, who _is _this boy, and how come I've never met him?" Koji demanded a few minutes later after being let through security. Long story short, he wasn't happy.

"Shush Koji, Daemon's head is still very sore, and your yelling isn't helping him," Karin said covering the boy's ears as he led the group along, causing the rich boy to pale at how his love was doting over the white-streaked boy.

"Where are you leading us anyway?" Naruto asked.

"To the security room," he answered leading them down another hallway, Dr. Aki at his side. "Whoever did this may've gotten away with my prototype medabot and all important data, as well as its backups, but he didn't get away with _this_," he said pulling out a compact disk colored black, connected to the end of a thin chain like the kind connected to pens at a bank.

"What's on it?" Naruto asked.

"You're about to see," he said taking a security pass from a draw cord at his side and running it through the scanner on the door, leading the group into a mostly white room, the far wall covered with monitors, a larger monitor over the rest. "This room runs through all the cameras for this floor, as well as all three floors underneath, but it can also play back data as long as it's in disk form," he said putting the disk in a slot, the prominent screen flaring to life before it suddenly went to a white image with a set of codes on it.

**Prototype: NRO-Type  
Specialty: Shadow Ally  
Medal Type: Devil**

**Head Part: Red-Eye  
Left Arm: Dark Knuckle  
Right Arm: Shadow Knuckle  
Leg Part: Black Pads**

"Are these your medabot's parameters?" Naruto asked. "Why're you showing us this?"

"Because after looking up your name in the World Robattle Fedaration's database, and a little questioning from Dr. Aki as well as Karin, I found out that you seem to be a magnet for trouble," Daemon explained before taking a seat and placing the ice pack that Karin handed him before placing it on his head. "The way I see it, you'll run into Nero one way or another sooner than either the police or the Select Corp., so I figure I'd better give you _some _idea as to what you may be going up against."

"Wow. Footage of a prototype medabot no one's seen before," Erika awed bringing up her camera to record it, only for Daemon to put his hand over the lens.

"I'll burn you a copy later for better quality," he sighed. "Right now, just look at this."

**Footage Start**

The scene opened showing the same desert scene from the day before, only an artificial moon hung in the night sky. The camera then panned left, showing a slightly younger Daemon, dipping what looked like a white mug of coffee with the Medabot Corporation logo on the side.

"Hey there… _*yawn* _My name's Daemon sage, and this is the first test run _*yawn*_ of my first ever medabot, as well as my first completed prototype, _*yawn*_ the NRO-Type, Nero," he said motioning to the right, the camera settling onto a shadowed medabot in the distance. The camera then panned upward showing some cloud coverage of the artificial moon in the sky before it panned back down, revealing the stolen medabot to the group for the first time ever.

The medabot was mostly colored ebony black, and oddly enough it resembled a cat, which came off a bit off since he had an aversion for CAT-Type medabots. Admittedly, it seemed different enough to not apply to that category.

It had a smooth face with a pointed chin, a white **X**-mark on its forehead, eyes with white sclera and red irises with white slits in the black pupils, metal tufts of hair on the sides of its head, and pointed cat ears white on the inside, and a triangle-shaped metal nose. It had a slender black body with a white tuft of metal fur on the chest, a red scarf around its neck, and a black metal band around its waist with silver studs. It had hexagonal plates hanging from its hips with four silver spikes, and a pentagonal-shaped plate hanging from its rear with a black tail, a white tuft on the end. It had cat-like feet with metal bands above the knees, three silver spikes on the tips, pointed shoulders with spiked studs on both sides, metal gauntlets on its forearms with three spikes on the tops and sides. Lastly were the silver fists that had black knuckle bracers with extensions on the sides and over the top of the hand, two silver studs on the tops and sides, and three down the front. The plate to the medal chamber on its back was hinged at the bottom like Belzelga's, a pair of red devil-like wings handing from them.

"Now, Nero is the leading medabot in the series of medabots that I've been planning on building since I was a little kid, the Elemental series," Daemon explained stifling a yawn as the camera panned back to him. "As you may've noticed by now, I'm a bit sleepy, _*yawn* _and that I've yawned a few times already. The reason for that is because Nero is at his peak while in the dead of night, and the best way to get the most darkness is to conduct his tests in the middle of the night. While this room may be a simulation, that is only because I can't conduct tests out in the open, and I'm trying to _*yawn* _remove outside variables until I have a more complete _*yawn* _model. Now, I can't just conduct tests in a dark room during daytime because the difference between darkness and shadow is that shadow is an absence of light being cast off an object, while darkness is the absence of light in general. I could go on for hours as to how Nero's functions work, but I think it would be better to simply _*yawn* _show you. Charlie, start him up."

"Beginning test," Charlie's voice said form the other end of the camera as it moved back, Nero's back facing the camera before it raised, giving it a partial birds-eye view. Within moments, a dozen Tankar medabots, as well as a half-dozen Noctobats, rolled and flew into the camera's line of sight.

"Setting Devil medal into medal chamber," Daemons said from beside the camera, the latch sliding over the bat-like medal in Nero's back before the slot closed up onto it, the red wings handing from its back now at its shoulders, swiveling vertically and horizontally for a few seconds as though they were alive.

The next moment, Nero's body loosened up before he settled into a relaxed stance, the Tankar raising their guns at the medabot as the Noctobats scattered into the air. When the Tankar opened fire, their muzzles lighting up in the night, Nero suddenly dropped to the ground before dashing to the side, a trail of dust roving behind it as he dodged the fire, then suddenly leapt at the Tankar in the middle of the formation. After zig-zagging through the gunfire, he suddenly leapt onto its head, then pressed down on it, crushing its armored plating before it suddenly leapt up at the nearest Noctobat, which started firing missiles at him. Nero then adjusted his wings and maneuvered himself through the air, spiraling around the missiles, all a half-inch away from him before he grabbed the offending Noctobat's head. After pushing off, sending it into another Noctobat, then sent that Noctobat into a wall with its fist.

The next moment when it settled into the ground, a pair of Tankar suddenly rushed at it from the sides. Nero spun around in a circle and backhanded them both with the sides of its studded fists, sending them reeling, their medals ejecting as the three Noctobat slammed into the ground. Nero then got on all fours and started sprinting around the field as the remaining Noctobats started firing their missiles, riddling the ground with explosions before Nero suddenly reared its head back. The next moment, a thick smokescreen launched towards them from where its mouth would be.

As the remaining Tankar rushed at Nero from all sides, Nero suddenly leapt into the smokescreen, now clearing to reveal that the remaining Noctobat now had their visors covered in black dust, their wing/arms still firing their missiles, their chassis occasionally sparking.

Nero then leapt into the air and plucked two out of the air and used them to fire at the lone one before it dropped to the ground, then shot missiles at another two Tankar and downed them before smashing the Noctobat in its hands into each other before dropping them to the ground, their medals dropping to the ground before it rushed at the remaining Tankar.

Nero then rushed at the Tankar as they fired at it, skirting in and out of their fire, rounds bouncing off its armor while the ones that struck caused it to jerk back. It then stormed past the storm of bullets before leaping at the seventh Tankar, decking it and knocking it to the ground before it started punching it rapidly, then flipped with its arms off of it as the remaining six Tankar fired at it, the downed Tankar's medal ejecting from the friendly fire. It then fired its smokescreen at one of the Tankar and leapt onto its back, jerking it to the side and firing at the other five before suddenly ripping it from its legs, throwing it to the side before lunging at the last five medabots and punching them out one by one with what looked like a hazy black afterimage behind it, leaving only one medabot remaining.

A few seconds later, only Nero and one Tankar were remaining, a few bullet marks on its armor. The next moment they rushed eachother, and at that moment the artificial sky chose to place some clouds over the moon, darkening the final struggle before it cleared up, the two medabots a few yards away from eachother.

A moment later, the Tankar's medal chamber opened, and its medal ejected before its body slumped forward, Nero resuming its full height before its eyes dimmed before going completely black.

**Footage End**

"Woah… It's like that Belzelga medabot, only in a more cat-like package," Metabee stated after watching the carnage.

"I thought you had an aversion to CAT-Type medabots," Erika stated.

"I do, and last time I checked, Nero isn't a _CAT_-Type," Daemon sighed.

"But Nero _looks _like a cat," Naruto stated.

"CAT-Types run on Queen medals. Nero runs on a Devil medal," Charlie corrected.

"So wait, you showed me this because you think out of _all _the people in the world, _I _will run into your stolen prototype first?" Naruto asked.

"Like I said. I heard you and Metabee are just magnets for trouble," Daemon said before clutching his head. "Rrrgh! Man that smarts!" he groaned before taking out the disk and putting it back in his pocket.

"Here, Daemon, let me help you to your room," Karin said taking his arm before leading him out the door.

"Bu-But Karin…" Koji pleaded as he ran after the red-head.

"What about my copy of the footage?" Erika pleaded, only for Naruto to pull her back.

"Erika, try to be a bit more sensitive," the blond stated.

"Yeah. The thief used him to break open the glass casing," Metabee chided in, still wearing his Armor Car part. "With _his _head."

"Yeah, let's just get back to school. We still have a few hours left until we're counted as absent," Naruto said dragging her off.

* * *

When Naruto and Erika got back to school, our resident blond, of Japan, explained what had happened to the principal, and with everything that he'd done for the school, like stopping it from getting torn down, he was willing to not mark them absent for that day even though they missed a few hours. They themselves would have to get caught up on their own, but it was a simple enough task if the student council owed you a favor or two.

The rest of the school day was pretty normal after that. Aside from a few questions as to where they went, none of which were answered, a lunch of ramen-flavored pizza in the cafeteria, one of Coach Mountains more "vibrant" classes, as in dodgeball, a normal recess of robattles and playing on the monkey bars, and the day had come to a rather uneventful end.

Or, _would _have come to an uneventful end, had Naruto not overheard a news bulletin from one of the teacher's classrooms.

"**It has been an hour and a half since the Rubberobo Gang had forced their way into Rosewood Academy during the after-school classes, and demands have yet to be made. A police barricade has been set up around all causeways, but so far there has been no movement. More details will be revealed as they are made available."**

"Did you hear that? The Rubberobo Gang has invaded Rosewood," Brass gasped.

"And just when I thought we'd have a normal day too," Metabee said as he rolled around on his Armor Car. Even while robattling, he still wore it, and found he could swivel his body 360 degrees while he rolled. For the first half of recess he'd been getting used to his wheels, but that was a moot point.

"Naruto, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Erika asked.

"Maybe, but we'll need to get The Screws if we want to mount a rescue mission," the blond thought.

"Well, I was actually thinking of investigating why there was a receipt for Pauls Piñata Emporium sticking out of Coach Mountain's office trashcan, but that works too," Erika stated.

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off. "However we'll have to move quickly. Those rubber-wearing freaks can be erratic and act on impulse. We'll need to get there faster from here than we did last time."

"So you need to get faster somewhere huh?" a voice asked from the tree behind them, Sam stepping out a moment later with Peppercat. One of her earlier robattles where she took a medabot down in one shot was certainly a sight to behold, that was for certain. Whatever Daemon did worked.

"Yeah, we need to get to Rosewood Academy, pronto," Naruto answered. "Why? What do you have in mind?"

"A little something we… picked up recently," Sam chuckled. "Follow me. I've got it stashed where those old birds kept our medabots before we ran them out of town."

Looking to one another before shrugging their shoulders, Naruto and Erika followed Sam through the alley that led to the back of the school, Metabee following behind and Brass riding on his rear fender.

* * *

A few minutes later, Sam had led Naruto, Erika, Brass, and Metabee to the old equipment shed behind the school. Aside from the locks having been removed, the roof had a new coat of green paint, a new coat of cream-colored paint on the walls, the doors still the same thought.

After knocking on the door in what Naruto thought was code, Sam turned around before motioning to the door behind her.

"Allow me to introduce…" Sam trailed off as the shed door opened. "The Screwmobile!" she announced as a spotlight came down on the contents of the shed, Erika, Brass, and Metabee's jaw dropping, while Naruto's eyebrow raised.

Said "Screwmobile" appeared to just be a heavily-modified version of the wagon that the Rubberobo Gang had left behind after their "Rock and Roll Concert" with their Landmotor medabots. The front of the wagon appeared to be based on Peppercat's face with two cat-like ears, blue eyes painted on the front, white plating underneath, and red armor that curled around to the sides. The body of the wagon was colored yellow with white trim, the body bearing silver studs across its frame. The most prominent change however was that it had three pairs of wheels instead of just one. The wheels were now rubber instead of wood, and had blue hubcaps with silver gun barrels down the middle, yellow lightning bolt patterns running through them at different angles on each hubcap.

"Thaaaaat's right!" Sloan announced from the side of the shed as he pulled a rope connected to some pulleys, which turned a panel on the floor giving the group a full view of the tricked-out wagon.

"This baby's got a triple-axel frame and dual shocks for stability on all levels, padded seating with reclining technology and armrests, armored plating on the front and sides, and six seats wiiiiith…" Spyke trailed off from the other side as he did jazz hands. "Deluxe cup holders!"

"Woah! You made this yourselves?" Erika awed as she and Brass walked around the tricked-out wagon.

"You have _got _to do something about the name," Naruto deadpanned, causing everyone to fall flat on their faces.

"Hey! We worked really hard on this presentation, so give us some credit!" Sam shouted angrily.

"Still, where'd you get all the parts?" Brass asked.

"You'd be surprised what some people will just _throw away _in the 22nd century," Sam stated.

"So you're saying this will get us to Rosewood on the double?" Naruto said looking over the wagon.

"That's right. Now all we need is a medabot with wheel-type legs to pull it," Sam remarked, everyone present turning to the KBT-Type sporting a new set of legs. Or wheels if you want to get technical.

" . . . Why're you all looking at _me _like that?" Metabee asked.

* * *

"Gaaaaang waaaaaay!" Metabee shouted five minutes later as he barreled through the school gate and playing the Dukes of Hazard car horn as loudly as he could, the Screwmobile tearing through the streets as everyone clutched their armrests for dear life.

"Why aren't there any _seatbelts _on this thing?" Erika cried as she clutched her armrests, the wind whipping through her hair as Brass tried to not fly out of her seat.

"We were going to install those tomorrow!" Spyke cried as their wagon turned around another corner before shooting down the street.

"Maybe if we all _live _that long!" Naruto cried as they shot onto the highway, shooting past the other cars as they made their way to Rosewood.

* * *

To make a long story short, the trip was rather… quick. Metabee apparently really _wanted _that Armor Car medapart, because as soon as he got on the highway, he must've hit a nitro or something, because they all shot into the distance before anyone cold even identify their vehicle.

When they got off the wagon, Spyke and Sloan kissing the ground while Erika and Brass pinched one another to make sure they were alive, Sam fixed her hair while Naruto just ran his fingers through it. No matter what he did it would always stick out as if it were laced with hair gel.

After throwing a tarp over their mode of transport behind some bushes, they made their way towards the massive golden gates of Rosewood Academy.

* * *

When the group arrived at the edge of Rosewood Academy, there were already several patrol cars around each entranceway keeping people from going in unnecessarily. Things hadn't escalated to the point that the Select Corps had to be called in, so at the moment there were only a few PLC-Type medabots at each squad car, the Brave Police medabot. Its coloration was mostly white with black stripes, it had a red visor, a red light on the top of its head, two red lights on the ends of its arms, and a pair of red lights on the front of its legs like a set of headlights.

Further inspection noted that its legs appeared to be based around the Medachange function that Daemon's parent had patented. At the moment its leg were folded down so that its knees and feet touched the ground, a set of wheels mounted on each. Probably for pursuit reasons.

"_How're we going to get in?" _Erika asked. _"There are cops at all the entrances, and I don't think there will be any holes in Rosewood's fence for us to crawl through either."_

"_Don't worry your pretty little head about that, The Screws have a plan around this wimpy police barricade," _Sam said with a smirk as she tiptoed away from the academy walls. _"Follow me you guys, or you'll get left behind."_

As Spyke and Sloan followed their boss, Naruto and Erika could only look to one another before following the brunette, wondering just what she had in mind.

* * *

"You guys dug _this _while we were lost around Rosewood?" Erika asked on hands and knees beside Sam as they crawled through the tunnel behind Naruto and Metabee, who had head lamps on and were leading the way. For obvious reasons, Metabee had returned to his original legs.

"Yeah. Back then, we wanted to defeat the Legendary Medafighter so _we _could be legendary, but afterwards we got terribly lost," Sam found herself admitting.

"So _that's _why you were absent the next day," Naruto chuckled, only to get poked in the thigh with a collapsible pointer.

"Keep guiding. This tunnel hasn't been used in weeks, so it could collapse at any time," Sam said poking him again before collapsing her pointer.

"Guys… I don't feel so good," Sloan groaned holding his stomach and falling onto his side.

"Sloan, I _swear _to god, if you fart in this tunnel, I will _leave _you down here," Sam threatened.

" . . . " was Sloan's reply as he squeaked. And not from his mouth.

* * *

A few minutes later.

"Good god, what did you _eat_?" Naruto panted out as he laid on his back, the tunnel exit closed behind him and The Screws, Erika at his side while Metabee shook the dust off his parts.

"Just the beef and bean burrito," the rotund boy answered, having narrowly avoided getting buried alive. Sam was serious when she said she'd leave him down there if he farted, so he had to get out of there himself. "More crawling in the last five minutes than in the last week."

"Naruto… Did we really make it… Or is it just the adrenaline?" Erika asked.

"_*Pant* _I'd pinch you _*pant* _but I'm too tired," he groaned.

"I'm not," Metabee said pinching the brunette's cheek, causing her to yelp out in pain.

"Eyowch!" the school reporter cried.

"Shhhhh. Keep it down. We don't know where the Rubberobo are," Naruto said as he looked around. "Alright, let's get behind those bushes over there and deploy our medabots. There's no way to turn off the flash from the Transport, so we'll need to be discrete before we make our way to the academy. After we got home the last time I was here, I pulled some strings and got a map of the academy."

"Strings? From who?" Erika asked as she was guided over to the bushes.

"You ever heard of a guy named Slim Cognito?" Naruto asked.

"No."

"Good. Means he's doin' his job right," Naruto said before finding a good set of bushes.

* * *

By the time the group got to the edge of the lake surrounding Rosewood Academy, the sun had already begun to set, and it would probably be fully set by the time they got there, if at all. The reason it took so long was because the majority of the group stayed a few meters back, while Naruto and Metabee pressed forward to make sure there weren't any traps, and after the tunnel fiasco, he couldn't trust Sloan to not accidentally set one off.

By now they were able to get their medabots out into Rosewood, leaving them five strong. Plus, with their tune-ups from Daemon, they were all the stronger.

"_It's a shame we couldn't bring Daemon along. What with that head injury and all," _Erika stated. _"Did whoever take his Nero _seriously _use his head to do it?"_

"_Yeah. I saw how fidgety he was. It must've really hurt his pride to have that done to him," _Naruto said looking out through the bushes. _"Right now, we just need to get in there and ruffle a few feathers, and get the school on our side."_

"_Yeah. We can't chase those yahoos out of town by ourselves," _Metabee stated.

At the moment, the group was hiding behind some bushes at the beach house where the gondolas, canoes, swan boats, etc. were. At the moment there were eight Rubberobo Gang members there, but they had yet to bring out their medabots. Right now they appeared to be guarding the boathouse lazily, not paying all that much attention.

"_Okay, in total there's ten us us and eight of them giving us a two-man lead on them. However, if they bring out their medabots, they'll have a six-man lead on us,"_ Erika explained.

"_So what do we do?" _Spyke asked.

"_What they do in the spy movies," _Sam said as she started crawling forward beside Naruto. _"Sneak up on them and put the screws to them."_

_"Alright. Let's just do it quickly before they hear us whispering," _Naruto said as he led them through the bushes, sneaking around behind them before they either knocked them out, or just beat them up until they lost consciousness.

* * *

"Did we really have to take their rubber outfits?" Erika asked looking down at the two rubber outfits in her backpack, the silver antennae sticking out of it, a few minutes later. The group was now crowded together into a single rowboat, since more than that would draw attention to themselves if anyone was watching.

"What? We may need some Rubberobo disguises one day, and I figure some re-sized authentic outfits will be more effective than some improvised frauds," Naruto said, a pair of disguises in his own bag.

"Yeah, but why grab three extras? There are only five of us here," Spyke stated.

"There's Karin, Koji, and Daemon we have to think about," Naruto stated. "Still, it's all awfully convenient. The exact amount of outfits we need for later. Of course we'll have to wash them. A couple times."

"Enough chit-chat. Let's get to that island and get rid of these rubber-wearing freaks," Erika stated. "Cyangog, Totalizer, Metabee, Peppercat, keep rowing!"

"Why aren't any of _you_ rowing?" Metabee demanded.

"Because we did most of the work and have to carry these costumes," Erika answered with crossed arms, the medabots sighing deeply before they continued rowing, Rosewood Academy's walls in the distance.

* * *

By the time the group made it to Rosewood academy, night had already fallen, leaving most of the castle-like school dark, sans the lanterns and lights coming from inside. Security, if it could be called that, was pretty lax inside the academy compared to at the shoreline, which, once again couldn't be called security. The group had only to sneak past a few patrolling pairs of guys in rubber outfits, before making their way to the courtyard, where from what he saw last time he was there, would let him get to any other point in the school, since it acted like a hub for foot traffic.

He also took the time to wonder why they had antennae on their heads. Really, they just looked stupid.

That aside, the group's patience had awarded them, because once they made it to the courtyard, they spotted the captured students tied in a circle, their medabots tied in another pile.

Naruto would've thought that Koji would've fought them off with his Sumilidon, but after noticing what the students and medabots were tied with, it would make sense that the flamboyant boy would be unable to act.

"_Geez, they brought that Spidar medabot again," _Metabee said noticing the spider-like medabot hanging from a wall.

"_Okay, so who do we have to deal with this time?" _Naruto asked looking around, scanning all the rubber-wearing figures until he spotted two sets of gold-colored antennae. _"Ugh. It's Squidguts and Gillgirl. We always have to deal with the weirdos."_

"_I say we split up," _Erika whispered. _"I'll take Spyke and Sloan to the left and draw their attention. Naruto, you take Sam with you and knock out that Spidar medabot. Then you'll free Koji, and we run those yahoos out of here."_

"_Hey, why do _you _get to stick with Spyke and Sloan?" _Sam asked.

"_Because Naruto needs your help more," _Erika said as she started sneaking off to the left.

" _. . . Just try not to get caught," _Naruto said before leading Sam off to the right, Metabee and Peppercat behind them.

* * *

"Okay then. Now that we've got them tied up, we just have to check their medabots for rare medals," Squidguts said with his back turned to the captured students. The majority had left, and all that remained were those taking after-school courses, as well as that kid who seemed to totally wig out when one of his guys brought out his Spidar medabot.

"Yeah, but let's be sure we actually _have _rare medals this time," Shrimplips said around his pacifier before turning away, Metabee's horns and Peppercat's ears poking over the bushes in the background as they made their way towards the Spidar on duty. "The Rubberobo Leader scares me."

"Yeah, but how do we tell what _is _a rare medal?" Squidguts asked, two pairs of hands yanking the Spidar medabot into the bushes in the background, sparks of electricity and shadows being cast on the wall on the far side of the courtyard.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Shrimplips said bringing out the Meda-Bonker, two pairs of blue eyes poking out of the bushes in the background as he hefted it onto his shoulder.

"Hey Shrimpy! Over here!" Spyke cried as he, Sloan, Cyandog, and Totalizer danced around in the open.

"Bet you can't catch us!" Sloan said before running off.

"Those meddling kids! How'd _they_ get past or security?" Shrimplips cried. "Don't just stand there you big oaf! After them!" he shouted as he ran forward with his hammer, Squidguts following them as well, only for something to hit the back of his head.

"Hey meathead!" Erika called out from behind him before giving him a raspberry. "Nyaaaaaa!" she teased pulling down her eyelid and running off in a separate direction, leading Squidguts away from Shrimplips while Naruto and Sam started freeing the captured students and medabots.

"_Naruto? How'd you get here?"_ Karin asked as the blond cut her ropes with a kunai.

"_Long story. Let's just get you and the others ready to run those yahoos out of this school,"_ the blond said as he continued to cut students free, noticing it was mostly girls, sans Koji, who had begun to calm down after they pulled a Takedown on the Spidar.

"Get back here you brats!" Shrimplips cried as he chased after the three kids and their medabots, his hands on his knees as they continued to run circles around him. After giving up on catching them on his own, he clicked his pacifier before an antennae slid out the end. "Attention all Rubberobos. Assemble in the courtyard immediately!"

No sooner had that been said, that several dozen Rubberobo Gang members suddenly flooded into the courtyard, their maneuver herding everyone to the wall behind the clock tower, the patrolling spotlights settling onto them. The students had been freed, but the group was still outnumbered four to one. And that was when the Rubberobos brought out their medabots.

"Sorry Naruto. I didn't think they'd call in reinforcements," Erika sighed.

"Even if we fight these guys, we're still outnumbered," Koji grumbled as he eyed the random jumble of enemy medabots. "We're going to need something to turn the tide."

At that moment, one of the Rubberobo medabots attemped to move forward, only for a ceiling tile to come down and nail it on the head.

"Ahhhhh hahahahaha!" a voice cackled from high above moments later, causing everyone's attention to be drawn to the clock tower. All of a sudden, the spotlights across the grounds, manned by the Rubberobos, converged on a lone figure standing atop the roof, a shadowed medabot at his side.

The figure above was wearing a large black mantle around his neck and down his back with frayed edges, a white dress shirt with a frilly plume on the front, black gloves with metal lining, tight black dress pants and formal dress shoes. On his face was a white mask shaped like the Phantom Renegade's, but with menacing features on it instead. Across the lower half of the mask was a black zig-zag fissure where the mouth would go shaped like a jack-o-lantern's, a wicked-looking mark painted over the left eye shaped like a demon's, and over the right eye was a triangle-shaped piece of glass that served as a lens.

His black hair, bearing a white streak on the left side from the forehead, was spiky and pointing behind him in all directions. **(Like Axel's from KH2)** What appeared to be a red-colored metal gauntlet with inlaid yellow circuitry covered his right forearm and hand, and around his left wrist was a black medawatch with silver spikes on it.

"Hey! Who the heck are you!" Shrimplips demanded.

"Hmhmhmhmhm… Ahhh hahahahaha!" the figure cackled madly before leering at them. "Who am _I_? Well clean the gunk out of your ears and I'll tell you, you douchebags!" he shouted in a booming voice, possibly from a hidden megaphone within his mask. "I am the shadow on the moon at night , the howling on the wind through your hair, and future kicker of all your asses. I am the Meda-Rogue, soon-to-be world-renowned thief. And this is my partner, the Prototype NRO-Type Medabot, Nero!" he cackled as the spotlight shifted, revealing the cat-like medabot from before.

"Nero?" Naruto cried in shock. "So _you're _the one who stole Daemon's prototype!"

"Daemon? Never heard of him," the Meda-Rogue said shaking his head. "All I know is that there was a powerful prototype medabot in the Medabot Corporation building, and I… took it out for a test run."

"_Stole_ is more like it!" Metabee shouted.

"Give Daemon back his medabot!" Erika shouted. "He worked really hard on it! He shed sweat, blood, and _tears _to make it!"

"Daemon again? Ha! That timid little twerp could _never _harness this machine's true power! He's too weak!"

"Hold on! I thought you said you never _heard _of him!" Metabee shouted.

"I learned enough when I made my _acquirement_ to figure that much," the Meda-Rogue said as he stepped forward, the tips of his feet handing off the edge of the roof. "Now, I'll show you how a _real _medabot fights! Toh!" he said as he and Nero leapt off the roof to the ground.

Everyone gasped as the masked figure and stolen medabot leapt off the clock tower ten stories up. However, at the halfway point, the Meda-Rogue threw a blue marble-sized sphere from his right hand at the ground below him and Nero.

The next moment there was a low hum as the marble-sized sphere expanded into a black and blue dome-shaped force field two yards in diameter. When the two landed in it, blue energy bound over them and held them within the sphere before the force field receded.

"Now Nero! Destroy them!" the Meda-Rogue ordered. "Kick all metal-plated asses and take no prisoners!"

"Nyaaaaaa!" Nero meowed as it brandished its massive spiked knuckles and lunged at Metabee, Brass, Sumilidon, Peppercat, Totalizer, and Cyandog… only to rush past them and nail the nearest rubberrobo medabot in the face with a powerful punch, ejecting the medal in one swing.

"Don't just stand there! Attack!" Squidguts ordered.

The dozens of varying medabots quickly attacked the lone medabot en masse… only to be knocked away with powerful swings, their medals scattering in all directions as the medabots on the receiving ends were heavily damaged by the attacks, their parts either damaged or outright destroyed by the force of the attacks as it continued to slink around all their moves. The occasional bullet or strike would hit it, but the damage appeared to be minimal.

"W-Woah!" Cyandog awed as enemy medabots fell like flies, left and right, the bodies piling onto one another as the Nero stepped over them.

"He's knocking them down with a single punch," Spyke stated as another medabot's head was caved in horribly.

"And his arms aren't even _scratched _yet," Naruto awed as Nero knocked away the three dozen'th enemy medabot in two minutes, the gleam on the medabot's arms showing no signs of battle damage. Only the glory of the fight. "Wait a minute… That hair… It's _Daemon_!" he suddenly cried as he spotted the loch of white hair over the left eye.

A moment later Karin's phone rang and she answered it. "Hello?"

"**Karin, thank god I was finally able to reach you. Are you alright?"**

"Don't worry Daemon, I'm fine," Karin said recognizing the voice on the other end of the line.

"Daemon?" Naruto gasped. "But he- And him- And… Gah! I'm so confused!" he cried as he fisted his hair. The Meda-Rogue was currently barking orders at Nero, occasionally kicking some Rubberobos in the nuts, so it couldn't be _him _talking to Karin at the moment.

"**What's going on over there? It sounds like a total bloodbath."**

"There's this guy with a mask and AAAH!" she cried as she suddenly ducked out of the way of a medabot sent flying over her head and into the bushes.

"**Karin what happened? I heard you scream," **Daemon's voice said laced with concern.

"I'll call you back later! Things are getting too hectic here!" Karin said as she hung up the line.

"Karin, are you sure that was Daemon's voice you heard?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. We've talked over the phone before, and nothing's changed," the red-head replied.

"Alright then… I guess this guy just happens to have a white loch of hair over his left eye too," Naruto growled as he crossed his arms. _I almost jumped to conclusions. It _would _make sense that Salty would smell Daemon in his own lab since the guy practically lives there._

"Don't just stand there! Attack!" Koji shouted, snapping Naruto out of his train of thought.

"Right! Everyone! Let's run these rubber-wearing freaks out of town!" Naruto shouted, everyone having their medabots move in and fight the Rubberobos.

As Nero tore through the Rubberobo rankings, Naruto scowled when he saw that the Meda-Rogue was having the medabot lighten up on his fighting, meaning that he and the others would have to fight harder, tiring themselves and their medabots out. After several minutes of attacks being fired, medabots ceasing function on both sides, the Rubberobo goons started retreating out of the courtyard, giving the pile of completely decimated medabots taken down by Nero a wide berth, leaving only Shrimplips and Squidguts behind.

"Rrrgh! We'll remember this!" Squidguts shouted.

"Especially you Meda-_Creep_!" Shrimplips cried before running off as well, leaving only Naruto's group, and the supposed Meda-Rogue with functioning medabots. Koji's sumilidon was at half power, but everyone else's medabots had ceased function.

As the students gathered up their medals and medabots, Naruto, Erika, Sam, Spyke, Sloan, Koji, and their medabots formed a line across from the Meda-Rogue, Naruto's eyes narrowing as the jack-o-lantern smile on the Meda-Rogue's mask seemed to creep up to his eyes.

"And then there were six," he chuckled as the stolen medabot walked up to his side, its eyes placid as though it were unconcerned with who was ordering it around.

"Peppercat! Use your electric shock attack!" Sam ordered suddenly.

"Yes boss…" Peppercat said, a hint of regret in her voice at having to attack a devilishly handsome cat-like medabot like Nero.

"Nero, why don't you cross her wires," the Meda-Rogue smirked, Nero catching Peppercat's arms before her claws could rake at him. For a moment the two struggled, but then Nero suddenly brought her electrified claws together, an intense electrical surge coursing through Peppercat before she was thrown back, her parts smoldering.

**Left Arm. 85% Damage. Function cease imminent.**

**Right Arm. 87% Damage. Function cease imminent.**

"Boss… I can't fight anymore…" Peppercat groaned before falling to the ground on her face, Nero turning away about to run back to his master before Cyandog and Totalizer suddenly got in the way.

"You're not going to get away with this!" Spyke shouted. "Cyandog! Get him!"

"Right master!" Cyandog responded as he raised his arms, bullets firing from the muzzles only for Nero to zip under and around the shots as it made its way to the DOG-Type. A moment later it leapt into the air before bringing both fists down on top of its head, Cyandog's medal ejecting a moment later as his visor shattered.

"Totalizer! Use your lasers!" Sloan ordered, Totalizer raising his arm and firing a volley of weapons at the NRO-Type, only for it to run circles around it. After a few circles, Nero suddenly slid under Totalizer's legs, then flipped when he got to the other side before punching the medabot on both sides of the head, its body slumping before its medal ejected too.

"Woah! He took down The Screws in nothing flat!" Erika awed, catching this on film for later study.

"Sumilidon! Take that thing down!" Koji shouted, still angry about the whole bug thing.

"You're on your last leg kid! And so is Sumilidon!" the Meda-Rogue cackled. "Nero! Use Shadow Ally!" he roared, Nero's eyes widening with a gleam before he began running in a zig-zag line to Sumilidon, a black afterimage materializing behind him before Nero and its copy got to Sumilidon.

"Sumilidon! Use your hammer!" Koji shouted.

"Nero! Shadow Punch!" the Meda-Rogue orderd as his medabot reared its left fist back and meeting Sumilidon's Straw Hammer. At the moment their fists met, a crack ran down both arms, bringing a smirk to Koji's face.

**Left Arm. 50% Damage. (Sumilidon)**

A moment later however, the afterimage behind Nero seemed to suddenly merge back into the original, what looked like a _second _attack connecting to Sumilidon's hammer fist and causing it to shatter, its color darkening as its function ceased.

"What? A second attack!" the boy gasped in shock. _I only saw him punch _once_!_

"Give him a body shot Nero!" the Meda-Rogue ordered, the stolen medabot swinging its right fist over Sumilidon's shouler and into the side of his head, sending him flying off into some rosebushes.

"Brass! Get him while he's distracted!" Erika ordered, her medabot raising its guns to Nero's exposed back.

"It isn't a surprise attack if I know it's _coming_," the Meda-Rogue cackled. "Nero! You'll only need one shot! Finish her!"

"Nyaaaaaa!" Nero growled as he ran through Brass' shots, his right fist rearing back to knock the SLR-Type down for good.

"Neutrawall!" Karin called out, Neutranurse leaping in front of Brass a moment before the attack connected, Nero's damaged fist colliding with the clear wall.

"I'll keep him at bay. Now's your chance to attack," Karin told Erika.

"Right! Brass, get in there!" Erika shouted to her medabot.

"Not gonna happen! Nero! Use your smokescreen!" the Meda-Rogue shouted, Nero rearing back its head before it let loose a thick black cloud at Brass and Neutranurse at the moment the barrier dropped.

When the smoke cleared the medabots were trying to wipe the black smears off their faces. However, before they could get attacked again, the NRO-Type dodged out of the way of a pair of Seeker Missiles.

"Nothing can outrun my Seeker Missiles!" Metabee said with a smirk, Nero looking over its shoulder to see the twin missiles turning around and coming for it, bringing the medabot on the defensive.

"Nero! Activate Shadow Ally with a five-second lag!" the Meda-Rogue ordered, the familiar after-image sliding out of Nero's body and mimicking the actions of five seconds ago. After running in a circle to stave off the missile attack, it then ran at Metabee before stopping in front of it. "Dodge!" the Meda-Rogue ordered, Nero leaping over Metabee's head, leaving its afterimage standing in front of Metabee instead.

"Metabee! Get out of the way!" Naruto cried to Metabee who'd looked over his shoulder, just in time for the Seeker Missiles to pass through the Nero's "Shadow Ally" and hit him head on. "Metabee!" the blond cried out as the blond ran to his medabot, the medal leaping out of his medal chamber at the moment he hit the ground.

"Well then. Now then, since everyone's asses have been thoroughly kicked, I guess it's time for me to take my leave," the Meda-Rogue said about to leave, only for a kunai to suddenly whizz through the air and bind his cape to the wall he was standing beside. After looking down at it, he followed the flight path to the blue-eyed blond, his hand extended into a throw with Metabee's medal in hand.

"Yeah! You got his cape!" Erika cheered.

"Not really," the thief said yanking the kunai from its place in the wall, freeing his mantle before he bolted off, the kunai still in his hand which caused Naruto to scowl.

"Stop you criminal!" Koji shouted getting in the rogue's way.

"Criminal is such a _harsh _word, don't you think?" the Meda-Rogue stated casually as he backpedaled, teasingly so out of Koji's reach. "I prefer the term… legally ambiguous."

"That's the same thing!" Erika shouted.

"You won't get away from us that easily!" Sam growled as she blocked one of the paths out of the courtyard.

"Yeah! We're too smart for you!" Spyke added as he and Sloan got beside Sam, Erika and Karin blocking the path at the thief's back while Naruto and Koji took the sides.

"You're right. You're the pinnacle of human intelligence," the Meda-Rogue stated, the features on his mask visibly slacking. "Look! It's the Phantom Renegade!" he said pointing into the distance.

"Where?" everyone gasped as they looked at the top of the tower where the Meda-Rogue pointed, only to see nothing as he made a break for it after bolting past Spyke and knocking him to the ground.

"Hey! Get back here!" Naruto shouted as he ran at the Meda-Rogue in a sudden burst of speed, only to meet a metallic backhand to the side of his face, sending him reeling and his ears ringing.

"Naruto!" Erika cried as she ran to his side.

"Sorry 'bout that," the Meda-Rogue said giving a mock salute. "I'm still using Nero, and this toy's just too cool to give up. Ciao," he said holding his right arm above his head as he placed his other hand on Nero's shoulder, the inlaid yellow circuits glowing before he raised the gauntlet into the air and shouted, "Dark Teleport!"

A moment later he was whisked away in a flash of white and black light, not a trace of him, _or _Daemon's medabot, remaining, leaving the group on their own in the couryard.

"That guy… Dammit. He got away," Naruto cursed as he nursed his cheek, spitting some blood onto the grass as the cops formerly outside ran into the courtyard, having missed all the action but paying the new group no mind.

"Don't worry Naruto. We'll get him next time," Erika said reassuringly as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… We will…" Naruto growled as he looked off into the moon, the Meda-Rogue's face appearing on the creamy surface, that twisted sneer seemingly mocking his failure.

* * *

The next day at the medabot corporation as Daemon nursed his throbbing head, his office phone suddenly rung. Picking it up and bringing it to his ear, he asked who it was.

"**It's me, Karin, you silly,"** the girl giggled from the other end of the line.

"Oh, uh, hi Karin," Daemon said putting down his tea. "I heard what happened at Rosewood. Is everything okay?"

"**Don't' worry about us, we're all fine, though Koji's still a little weirded out since running into that Spidar medabot."**

_And he calls himself brave, _Daemon chuckled to himself.

"**Oh, but listen, we found your stolen medabot."**

"Really?" Daemon asked hopefully.

"**Yes. Some masked boy calling himself the Meda-Rogue has him. We tried getting him back for you, but your medabot was just too strong for us. It was just like that Belzelga, only much worse. It did this weird thing with its shadow, and we weren't able to beat it."**

"Well that _was _his intended focus," Daemon sighed as he looked over his blueprints. "You know. If Neutranurse got injured, you could bring her in and I could fix her up for you. Maybe re-callibrate your Neutrawall while I'm at it."

"**That's very sweet Daemon, but my parents aren't letting me out of the house right now. Oh, but maybe **_**you**_** could come over **_**here**_**?"**

" . . . I'll see what I can do," Daemon said as he began gathering some tools. "Goodbye Karin."

"**Goodbye Daemon. I'll see you soon," **she said with a smile before shutting off her end of the line.

"Yeah… See you soon…" Daemon said before looking over to the five remaining glass cases, still covered. "Looks like I'll have to work through the next few weekends if I want to match Nero's power with my remaining medabots."

"So, you got yourself a little date with Dr. Aki's niece _eh_?" Charlie chuckled from his spot in the corner.

"It's not a date! I'm just going to tune up Neutranurse," Daemon groaned as he finished gathering the remainders of his tools and placed them in his shoulder bag, which was different from a purse in that the strap was worn over the opposite shoulder from the side it was held on.

"Well, who am I to judge?" Charlie chuckled before assuming Vehicle Mode. "Come on, let's go. I haven't been on the open road in years, and _you _haven't been outside the Medabot Corporation building either."

"One minute, I have to grab one last thing, then we can go," he said as he grabbed a piece of paper with the image of an energy matrix on it, covered in calculations, labeled, **Holy Neutrawall**.

* * *

**Hmmmm. So the Phantom Renegade isn't the only masked thief this time around. That Nero medabot seems pretty tough too.**

**Will Naruto and Metabee be able to get Daemon's medabot back? Will they even stand a chance the next time they face him? Who **_**is **_**the Meda-Rogue? And just what does Daemon have in mind for Neutranurse?**

**You'll have to continue reading to find out.**

**More Medabots. More power.**


	18. I Dream of Hushi

It was a fine autumn day at the edge of Riverview. As the brisk temperatures of fall gave way to the chilling colds of winter, Rokusho slept in a large oak tree overlooking the edge of town, a plethora of sounds, sights, and sensations playing through his mind, as he relived a time passed.

At the moment, his mind's eye had been opened to a small house a few meters away from a cliff with a large oak tree beside it, both on fire as the licking flames of yellow, orange, and red painted the landscape and longed the shadows. The smell of burning wood and cinder could be smelt through the air, and the flickering ashes constantly changed the lighting.

"_**Professor! Professor Hushi the lab's on fire!"**_

"_**The whole place is going up in flames! Come on!"**_

"_**Please, hurry! We've got to get out of here!"**_

"_**Now! Hurry!"**_his voice cried as an office appeared in his mind's eye, furniture knocked over and green feathers scattered before his sights finally landed on a work desk in the corner, the chair turned as though someone had left it.

"_**Where are you? Are you okay? Answer me!"**_

The next moment, images of himself, sans his cloak, along with an aging man with platinum blond hair, eyebrows, and moustache in a lab coat, the two of them sitting on the front steps flashed through his mind, only for them to erupt into flame moments later.

"_**Please Professor answer me! Professor! PROFESSOR!"**_

"_*Gasp* _It was a dream. A nightmare from my past," Rokusho gasped as he found himself sleeping in a large oak tree, his nonexistent eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Strange. It was all so clear. As… real as the day that it happened," he said as he gazed past the golden leaves around him and into the city beyond. "Where do dreams like that come from? . . . There's something unusual about this place," he mused as he looked around himself.

"What are you doing up in that tree?" a woman suddenly demanded, the KWG-Type turning his crimson gaze to a tall woman wearing a dark purple dress and a violet jacket over it, a bundle of twigs in her hand with a pink, white, and green-colored FLY-Type medabot beside her. "Get down," she repeated. "I said get _down _from there," she repeated, suddenly gasping when Rokusho leapt down and landed in front of her.

"Back of buster," the butterfly-style medabot ordered, floating in front of her master.

"Oh I see. So _you're _the one who's been hanging around my house. Am I right?" the woman asked, only to get silence in return. "Answer me!"

"Hanging around your house?" the KWG-Type returned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you lie to me," the woman stated. "Now get out of here. You're trespassing on private property. Listen, you're not allowed to-"

"Very well. I'll go," Rokusho said sagely as he left the property, heading into the forest as a wayward wind blew through the billows of his tattered cloak.

* * *

Elsewhere, Naruto was running up and down the stairs at the edge of town to help trim some of his baby fat in preparation for future training he'd need. Being constrained to the yoke of human flesh, Naruto was tiring faster than Metabee.

Of course, that didn't stop them from arguing about who won.

"Last one to the top's a rotten egg!" Metabee stated.

"Let's go!" Naruto said as he got in a starting position, the song _Eye of the Tiger _playing in his head as he ran up the steps.

"Alright. It's a tie," Metabee said as he and Naruto got to the top a few seconds later. "Last one to the _bottom's _a rotten egg."

"Hold on, let's take a break," Naruto said catching his breath. "Really, just because _you _don't have to worry about muscle fatigue doesn't mean _I _don't have to," he said before spotting a familiar silver and brown-colored figure in the distance. "Hm? What's Rokusho doing at Mrs. Ainsley's house?"

"How would _I _know? I'm not psychic," Metabee returned before Naruto called out to the KWG-Type medabot, but was promptly ignored as he continued to walke down the road.

"What do you think's up with him?" the blond wondered. "He doesn't seem like the type to shrug others off without a good reason."

"Maybe Anisley's his girlfriend, and they just had a _ren-dez-view_," Metabee stated. "He's upset, because she can't remember him, on account of her amnesia."

"First off, it's rendez_vous_," Naruto corrected. "And second, where do you get this stuff?" he asked.

"Uh… TV?" the KBT-Type returned in the form of a question rather than an answer.

"That aside, I doubt that Rokusho and Mrs. Ainsley are involved with one another," the blond said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've heard rumors about her being some wacko who only loves that tree, but like we both know, I don't take rumors at face value," he said looking up to the tree on the edge of her property, where the road curved around it.

"Hey Naruto, I have to ask, why does the road curve around the tree like that?" Metabee asked.

"Well… From what I heard, the city wanted to take down the tree and build a road, but she chained herself to it, so the city had to build around it instead."

"Phew. Good thing it wasn't a cactus."

"That's not the point," Naruto corrected. "The point is, that tree must mean a lot to her, and I doubt those rumors of medals being around have anything to do with it."

"Rare medals?"

"Don't know. There've been rumors floating around for _years_ about her having a collection of medals somewhere on her property, but I hardly doubt that's the case," Naruto returned with crossed arms. "Anyway, it Rokusho's business where he does or doesn't go."

* * *

Elsewhere at the base of the hill, Rokusho sat alone on a park bench, watching the children play as his mind wandered.

_That old tree reminds me of the tree in Professor Hushi's yard, _he thought as he looked into the distance past the houses, his gaze landing right on that tree. _Perhaps it was the _tree _that brought up that vision of years ago. I've been wandering for so long… like a leaf on a breeze, searching for answers to my past and a purpose for my future… Perhaps that tree holds the key, _he thought as he spotted a cocoon swaying on a branch above him.

"It is time for me to return to it," Rokusho said as he got up from his bench. "It is time for me to _dream_ again."

* * *

_Let's see if I'm right, _Rokusho thought to himself as he settled himself into a nook at the base of the tree, allowing himself to fall back and drift once more.

"_**Rokusho, do me a favor. **__**Climb up the tree and take a look at the clouds for me, would you? I want to know what the weather's going to be like," **_the man from before said as he looked over books in his study, somewhat older than in the KWG's first dream as he looked out the window into the orange skies.

"_**What for Professor?" **_he himself in younger days asked.

"_**This lab's getting a bit too stuffy for my taste. I thought we might go out on the water tomorrow and see if the fish are biting."**_

"_**I'd like that," **_the younger Rokusho returned as he looked out onto the lake at the edge of Hushi's property, the setting sun painting the crimson-colored water with a speckled silhouette of gold in the evening.

"You again?" Mrs. Ainsley cried the next morning, rousing Rokusho from his slumber. "I thought I got _rid _of you," she said sternly as she locked eyes with the medabot sleeping against her tree.

"I didn't mean any harm. I'll go now," he said as he got up before walking off.

"Good," she said coldly, only for the sound of a snapping twig to draw her and Rokusho's attention to the forest on the edge of her property. "Who's there?" she asked, spotting a pair of silhouettes at the edge of the property.

"Stop!" Rokusho ordered as he rushed past Ainsley, his cloak billowing as he leapt into the shadows of the forest.

_He's defending this place like it's his own, _an aback Ainsley thought in surprise, the KWG-Type stepping out into the light a minute later.

"Lost him," he cursed to himself. "I'm sorry. I won't bother you again."

"Wait," Mrs. Ainsley said cutting him off.

"Yes?"

"I've misjudged you. _I'm _the one who should be sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"My name's Ainsley."

"I am Rokusho," he returned.

"Pleased to meet you Rokusho."

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto had switched out of his blue shorts into a pair of jeans and some wool socks, a blue scarf around his neck so he wouldn't get chilly as he and Metabee continued to train by ascending and descending the stairs.

Unbeknownst to them, Rokusho at the moment was in Mrs. Ainsley's house, a nonexistent eyebrow quizzically raised as he peered out the window to the butterfly-style medabot floating outside the window in the front yard.

"S-s-so c-cold…" the FLY-Type medabot shivered as she bobbed up and down in the chilly fall air.

_Hmmm…Maybe I should bring that Botafly a blanket or something sometime. You know. So that she doesn't freeze_, the blond thought to himself before heading down the hill, not really in the mood to start up any more conversation. However, after a minute's rest, their plans to head home were halted when Rokusho stepped off of Ainsley's property and headed down the road.

"Hey, Rokusho!" the blond called out, getting his attention. "Don't mean to pry, but can I ask why you're hanging out with Mrs. Ainsley."

"No reason," the red-eyed medabot returned sagely.

"I bet your after those rare _medals _of hers," Metabee stated, causing the KWG-type to look over his shoulder.

"Medals?"

"Metabee, those are just rumors," the blond said to his medabot. "Rokusho, ignore him. He's been keeping his ear to the ground for too long."

"Ha! Shows what you know. I don't even _have _ears," Metabee returned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rokusho said walking off. "Good day."

"Hmmm… That meda-bum's up to something," Metabee said rubbing his chin after the KWG-Type rounded the corner.

"Metabee, are you sure you're still not jealous after that dog thing?" Naruto questioned, only for the KBT-Type to run off towards the rear flank of Mrs. Ainsley's property. "Jeez. What's with this guy?" he asked as he followed after his medabot. _It's better if I make sure he doesn't get in trouble._

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto and Metabee found themselves in the forest, looking through one of the windows in the back of Mrs. Ainsley's house. At the moment Naruto was poking his head around the treeline using a fallen branch as camouflage for his golden lochs, while Metabee was perched up on a tree above. It seemed that Rokusho and Mrs. Ainsley were talking to one another, though since medabots didn't have lips to read, and Mrs. Ainsley's were out of sight, they couldn't tell what was being said.

"I _knew _that meda-hobo was up to something," Metabee said resting his thumb against his chin.

"Are you sure you're not delusional?" Naruto asked. "I mean really, there _were _other types of medals before _medabot _medals started circulating."

"Nu uh. If soap operas taught me _anything, _it's that those two are planning to blackmail somebody, or maybe… that guy is actually Rokusho's evil twin brother!" Metabee theorized.

"You're just full of it aren't you…" Naruto grumbled before realizing something. "Wait! You watch soap operas?" he suddenly cried out, but slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Huh! Ah! N-No… I uh… Just watch them for the commercials, but the soaps are on inbetween," Metabee said scratching the back of his head, only for the sound of snapping wood to cut him off. A moment later, the branch fell to the ground and onto a dried branch, causing a loud **crunch **to ring out through the air before-

"Rrraaahhh!" Rokusho cried as he suddenly leapt through the air towards Metabee, the blond paling when the KBT-Type was almost cut in half. "Oh, it's you two."

"Yeah! And you almost cut us _in _two!" Metabee returned.

"Technically that was only you," he said tossing the branch he was using to hide his hair into the bushes.

"Rokusho, who is it?" Mrs. Ainsley asked coming out the back steps a moment later.

"It's nothing. The two of them are completely harmless," Rokusho returned.

"Are they friends of yours?"

"More like… acquaintances," Rokusho said chosing his words in front of the blond. "I'll escort them out," he said guiding the two out, not noticing the two silhouettes moving through the treeline.

* * *

As the sun had begun to set, painting the sky a brilliant crimson, Naruto and Metabee sat alongside Rokusho on the riverbank. Rokusho at the moment was scolding Metabee on putting Naruto in such danger, and that if the blond hadn't been hiding behind that tree, and that if he hadn't redirected his attack at the last second, the two of them would've been having that talk in the hospital.

"So someone or something has been coming on and off Mrs. Ainsley's property for the past few weeks?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, though the two of you had no business spying on her like you were."

"In my own defense, I was just making sure Metabee didn't do something foolish," Naruto returned, causing Metabee to scowl in his general direction before sighing.

"Earlier, you mentioned a rumor of there being _medals _in that house, correct?" Rokusho asked, earning a nod from the blond.

"That's right. I said they could've just as easily been any _other _kind of medal," Naruto stated. "After all, medabot medals aren't the _only _kind of medals around."

"Well you're right about that," Rokusho stated. "Metabee had fallen off his branch right after I'd finished examining the medals. Seems that all there are, are just some antique _war _medals."

"Hey Rokusho, what's the story with that big oak tree on Mrs. Ainsley's property?" Naruto asked. "All I have to go on are rumors, but she doesn't seem like she's ob_sessed _with the tree. Just protective of it. Do you think you could shed some light on it?"

"Mrs. Ainsley's convinced that the intruders that have been skirting around for the past few days are trying to harm it," Rokusho said looking off into the sunset. "I don't know what they could want, but I do know that there's something very special about that tree. I somehow find myself drawn to it, but that the intruders are somehow connecting the old oak tree to the rumors of rare medals."

"You've been nodding off around that tree for the past couple days," Naruto stated. "Mind if I ask why?"

"I don't know how it's even possible, but that tree is somehow like a link to my past," Rokusho said sagely. "When I sleep in it, I find myself able to dream."

"I didn't know medabots could dream," Naruto said with mild surprise.

"I can dream too," Metabee stated, causing Naruto to look up in surprise. "I thought I was the only one, but when _I _dream, I dream of electric sheep," he finished, causing Naruto to hang his head.

"The dreams I have are _memories_," Rokusho stated. "Dark fragments of my past, brought to frighteningly-realistic life again," he said as his past flashed in front of his eyes. "Long ago, I lived with a man named Professor Hushi. The Professor was a brilliant scientist and researcher. He was the first to develop the Medabot Theory, the way of explaining the inner workings of the medabot. His theory became the blueprint for every medabot that followed. Dr. Aki later used Professor Hushi's research, to mass produce medabots at the Medabot Corporation," he said as his mind returned to the present. "In other words, were it not for Professor Hushi's theory, neither you, or I, or any other medabot would exist today."

"Woah. Really?" Naruto and Metabee awed.

"Professor Hushi instilled in me a deep love and respect for the natural world," Rokusho continued.

"_**Rokusho."**_

"_**Yes Professor?"**_

"_**Nature… Nature fuels all living beings. It gives us all our life-force."**_

"**All **_**living beings?"**_

"_**Oh yes. And that in**_**cludes **_**medabots."**_

"_**But I am a machine. Not a living being, like you."**_

"_**You don't understand it now, but, you will."**_

"I didn't know what the professor meant by that, but I never had a chance to ask him. The next day something terrible happened. Something that would change my life forever," he continued with slumped shoulders.

"_**Rokusho, do me a favor. **__**Climb up the tree and take a look at the clouds for me, would you? I want to know what the weather's going to be like."**_

"_**What for Professor?" **_

"_**I thought we might go out on the water tomorrow and see if the fish are biting."**_

"_**I'd like that."**_

The next moment gouts of flame burst through the shutters of Professor Hushi's lab in his mind's eye. The rest of the house, oak tree, and office followed soon after.

"_**Professor! Professor Hushi the lab's on fire!"**_

"_**The whole place is going up in flames! Come on!"**_

"_**Please, hurry! We've got to get out of here!"**_

"_**Now! Hurry!"**_

"_**Where are you? Are you okay? Answer me!"**_

"_**Please Professor answer me! Professor! PROFESSOR!"**_

"The fire completely destroyed the lab. There was nothing left, and the professor's body was never found," Rokusho sighed as he found himself back in reality. "My heart still holds out that I may see him again someday, I hope against hope. But in my mind, I know that he is gone, and I still don't know what started that fire. I was left with nothing. No home, no friends, so I wander searching for a purpose in this world."

"So why do you think that tree makes you dream?" Metabee asked.

"I don't know. But there _is _something about that tree that triggers memories, and serves as a link to the past. For me… and others," Rokusho returned, thinking of how Mrs. Ainsley kept thinking of her late husband, and using the tree as an excuse to not let go.

_So then if what Rokusho says is true... then maybe... _the blond trailed off in thought.

"Rokusho! Rokusho!" came a worried voice courtesy of Botafly a second later.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Botafly grabbed his arm worriedly.

"Ainsley's in trouble," she cried worriedly.

"Then there's no time to lose!" Rokusho said as he ran off. "Stay with me, I know a shortcut!" he said as he leapt onto a fence before taking to the rooftops, Botafly's eyes widening in amazement as both the blond and Metabee were able to keep up.

"Hey, Botafly right?" Naruto said getting her attention before removing his scarf. "Here, you looked a bit cold out there a while back," he said passing it to her.

"Uh… Thank you," she returned, carefully taking the scarf from the blond's hand before draping it around her neck.

"Dude! I'm not designed for parkour!" Metabee cried as he struggled to keep up.

* * *

By the time the group had arrived at Mrs. Ainsley's house, night had already fallen, and the crescent moon had begun to shine its pale light upon the landscape. By the time they got there, Ainsley had already had her arms tied to one of the support beams for Mrs. Ainsley's husband's room, which Naruto quickly clipped with his kunai before slipping it back in his pocket.

"What happened here?" Metabee asked as he looked to his right, the collection of war medals scattered across the floor when they didn't meet the intruder's criteria.

"Rokusho, please hurry! They've gone to the oak tree!" Mrs. Ainsley pleaded.

"I knew it," Rokusho growled, leading the others to the front yard in time to catch two rubber-wearing figures digging in the ground around the old oak tree, one of them holding an ornate box. "Stop!" he shouted as he lashed out with his sword, causing one of the figures to chuck the box into the air out of panic.

"Got it!" Botafly said as she caught it.

"Hey you! Drop that box!" Seaslug demanded.

"Wait a minute…" Ainsley said suddenly recognizing the box.

"If we can't have it peacefully, then we'll take it by force," Gillgirl growled. "Saldron!" she called out as the SLD-Type flew from out of the treeline.

"Alright Naruto, let's get meda-_busy _on these guys!" Metabee said with narrowed eyes, earning a nod from Naruto as he raised his medawatch.

"Stand aside," Rokusho said loosening his cloak. "This is _my _robattle," he finished as he tossed it to the side.

"Rokusho…" Metabee said in awe as the KWG-Type stepped forward, this being the first time the normally-peaceful medabot ever robattled.

"Prepare yourself!" Rokusho growled as he swerved around Saldron's first hit, then dodged around the second before leaping into the air. "Chambara Sword!" he shouted as he struck Saldron over the head, causing it to waver for a bit before falling on its face.

"Woah…" Naruto awed. "One hit and Saldron bit the dust."

"Remind me not to call him a meda-bum to his _face_," Metabee added.

"Flaaamethrower!" Saldron suddenly shouted as his right hand raised at the wrist, a column of fire rolling out and knocking Rokusho back, the KWG-Type finding his back pressed against the old oak tree a second later.

"Oh no! If Saldron fires that flamethrower again, the tree will get burned!" Naruto gasped.

"If you can't take the heat, then get out of the robattle!" Gillgirl shouted.

"Now, let him have it!" Seaslug shouted, Saldron letting another flamethrower attack loose, Rokusho spreading his arms and using his body to shield the tree.

_That tree… It's important to Rokusho and Ms. Ainsley… I can't let them lose it, _Naruto said as he tapped on his medawatch wildly. "Transfer Medaparts!" he said as he pressed the final button, Metabee's arms being replaced with the Great Shield and Right Guard in a flash of light.

"What's with the new parts?" Metabee asked as he looked down at the smiling shields now on his arms. A moment later however Naruto suddenly picked him up by the armpits with all the strength he could muster, running headlong into the fire as Saldron let loose his second flamethrower, bracing himself against Metabee's back as he brought the shields together to shield himself.

"Naruto! What's the big idea?" Metabee shouted as he pushed the flames back, struggling to remain upright.

"Rokusho! Wake up! Rokusho!" Naruto shouted to the downed medabot, who had fallen once the flamethrower had been taken off of him. "Rokusho wake up dammit!"

"U…uuugh… Naruto? What're you doing?" he asked seeing the fire dance around Metabee's shields and striking the blond, the tips of his hair getting singed as well as some of his clothing.

"Metabee and I will protect this tree! You just worry about dealing with these guys!" Naruto shouted as he pushed back against the flames, his feet digging trenches in the dirt from the force of the attack.

" . . . Right!" Rokusho shouted as he rolled to the left, then got to his feet before running at the still-shocked Saldron. "Pico Hammer!" he roared as he rushed at Saldron and struck him with his left arm, the damage sending it flying into the Rubberobos, who then flew off into the distance upon impact.

"They're blasting off agaaaain!" Metabee chuckled to himself as he let his shield arms fall, the red metal resuming its original colors while Naruto patted himself down.

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Ainsley said as she ran to the blond's side after he collapsed along with Metabee.

"Well… My clothes are a bit singed, as is my hair, but I think I'll be fine," Naruto said running his fingers through his hair, the singed ends falling off. _Then again, my mom will probably kill me for doing something so wreckless._

"All of you… Thank you," Mrs. Ainsley sighed, Botafly nudging her shoulder a moment later before presenting the box that was dug up earlier. "This is… the special box that belonged to my husband," she said as she undid the clasp, then gasped at what was inside.

"What is it? A rare medal?" Metabee asked, Rokusho hitting him over the head with his hammer arm after sensing that Naruto wanted to do that. Had the blond done that, he probably would've just hurt himself.

"I thought that I'd lost it," Mrs. Ainsley sighed, holding up one of the only pictures with both her and her husband in it. "It was here, underneath the old oak tree."

"Beneath the oak we are together, so that our love may live forever," Naruto spoke aloud, causing Mrs. Ainsley to look at him strangely. "It was written on the back," he said, the woman turning it over before nodding, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. " . . . Mrs. Ainsley, can I ask you a favor?" the blond asked, Mrs. Ainsley and the scarf-wearing Botafly to look down to him.

* * *

After Mrs. Ainsley had called Naruto's mom and had explained what happened, she was reluctant, but accepting of Naruto's request to sleep in the tree. Closure had always been an issue for him, especially after that regional robattle tournament, so this she could allow him. At least, for as long as Mrs. Ainsley was willing to allow. She herself understood the need for closure, and realized that maybe it was time to start moving forward into the future, instead of trying to remain in the past.

"So you're saying you might be able to remember your past self if you sleep in this tree?" Rokusho asked from a high branch, having given Naruto one of the lower nooks after the blond had explained his… _situation _to him.

"Maybe, but I'm just not sure," the blond sighed as he looked off into the stars, the relaxing setting causing his eyelids to become heavy. "_*Yawn* _It feels like I've got this power inside of me, but no way of waking it up. _*Yawn* _However, it isn't power I'm after, but closure. Sometimes I dream of my past life on my own, but nothing definite. That's why _*yawn* _I'm here. So that maybe I can get something better than an image, a sound, or _*yaaaaawnnn*_ a sensation," he yawned again. It was a late night after all.

"I see…" Rokusho said sagely as he looked of into the sky as well. "Thank you for saving this tree. If not for me, than for Mrs. Ainsley. I know she appreciates this a lot."

"Yeah…" Naruto sighed, Metabee sleeping in Mrs. Ainsley's living room on the couch. "Good night Rokusho," the blond sighed as he rested against the tree, drifting off to sleep

"Good night Naruto," Rokusho said as he leaned against the tree and closing his eyes.

A minute later, a butterfly-shaped silhouette moved through the shadows of the old oak tree before floating up to the nook that Naruto had nestles himself into. When the moon's pale light fell on the silhouette, it revealed Botafly, still wearing the dark green scarf that had once been around the blond's neck.

"_Naruto, thank you for the scarf," _Botafly said affectionately as she looked at the sleeping blond, then noticed him shiver and hug his knees to his chest in his sleep. _"Here. You gave this to me so I could stay warm, so the least I can do is lend it back to you," _she said as she put it back around his neck, stroking some hair out of his face. _"Thank you for protecting Ms. Ainsley's tree. I know she appreciates it,"_ she said before floating to the ground, hoping one of the doors was open so she wouldn't have to freeze outside for the night, their exchange unnoticed by all.

However, this action did _not_ go unseen, a pair of red eyes squinting playfully from one of the tree's higher branches.

_Naruto Uzumaki… Maybe it is you who can complete Professor Hushi's work. To close the gap between humans and medabots, _Rokusho pondered before allowing him to sleep. _I know you would like to meet him… Dr. Hushi._

* * *

**For those of you who've been keeping track, thanks for reading, but with school (college) coming up and summer coming to an end for me, this'll probably be the last chapter I post on this and/or other stories for a while.**

**Chapters for this and my other FanFiction will come out when I feel like updating, but not as readily as they have been the past couple months. Also, if you're in the mood, look up some of my CrossOver challenges. You may find something that intrigues you. I'm always looking for a new and/or vibrant read that works a new "angle".**


	19. Thanksgiving Special

**Hey readers. For those of you reading what is arguably one of the few decent Medabots FanFics that makes any real deviation from the original storyline, I decided to post a "Thanksgiving Special" as it were. This is completely NON-story canon, so nothing that happens here applies to this story's continuity.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

It was Thanksgiving at the Tenryo residence, and this year, th family of three _-five if you count Salty and Metabee- _decided to have a communal Thanksgiving like the first was, though limited to those they knew directly. That meant in attendance were Joso, Hikari, and Naruto Tenryo, Erika Amazake, Samantha Kikuhime, Sloan Kagamiya, Spyke Iwanoi, Dr. Eugene Akihabara, Karin Junlei, Koji Karakuchi, and after being dragged out of his lab by Karin and Neutranurse was Daemon Sage. After hearing how all he'd done for the past few Thanksgivings were eating the Thanksgiving lunch special with no other company apart from pictures of his deceased parents at an empty table, Karin made it the day's mission to ensuring he had the best Thanksgiving ever, and thus dragged him out to the festivities. Koji for his part was sulking how she never acted that proactive towards him.

While Hikari was cooking the food and the others watched the Thanksgiving Parade in New York, the varying medabots were put to work with decorations and/or atmosphere. Metabee had been dressed as a pilgrim with a _-fake- _gunpowder-powered musket. Rokusho, Kyuubi, and Sumilidon had been dressed as Native Americans, carrying a spear, bow & arrow, and a tomahawk respectively. Peppercat, Neutranurse, Brass, and Charlie had been dressed up as pilgrim-era settlers. Cyandog had been dressed as a... _dog_, and last but not least, Sumilidon was dressed as the turkey.

"God I look like an idiot," Metabee grumbled, his horns protruding from the hat ruining the pilgrim motif. "The only solace to this is that I at _least _have a gun."

"You appear to be speaking more intelligently than usual," Rokusho spoke as he adjusted his grip on his spear.

"This is _non-canon_, so we can say whatever the hell we want," the KBT-Type quipped.

"Oh, well no _wonder _the timing for this update was so cooincidental," Kyuubi noted.

"Why do I have to wear this stupid thing?" Peppercat asked as she pulled up the hem of her dress so she could take two steps without tripping.

"It's all in the holiday spirit, so do bear with it," Neutranurse argued. Out of the others, she fit the Pilgrim motif the most out of anyone.

"You're the only one who can say that 'cause you don't have any weapons," Charlie noted. It took for_ever _to get the costume to fit over his frame.

"At least _you _don't have to dress up as the damn _turkey_," Totalizer groaned, his wattle bobbing up and down as he spoke.

"Holy shit you talked!" Cyandog yelped.

"Non-canon, remember?" the TOT-Type asked.

"I just hope the _readers _can remember that," Sumilidon grumbled, tossing his tomahawk in his hands.

**"Yeah. I absolutely _hate _Reviews that nit-pick at details like that."**

"Is that... God?" Metabee asked looking upwards as he stared right at... me. "Then again, that would explain the _fuck _out of the platypus."

**"Let there be brass bath pans."**

The next moment a brass bath pan fell on the head of each medabot, causing them to Cease Function where they stood.

**"Ah... Closure."**

* * *

A few minutes after everyone got through and watched the parade, and then having gotten their medabot's medals back into their respective chassis, everyone was seated at the extra-long table to accomodate everyone. The medabots were all at a separate table, now out of costume, though Metabee saw fit to ask why there wasn't any food there.

"It's because we weren't built with mouthes," Brass stated plainly.

"_Or _a digestive tract," Peppercat added, thankful to be out of that _hideous _dress.

"DAMN YOU HORUMARIIIIIIIIIIN!" Metabee cursed.

"What's Metabee going on about?" Erika asked from her place beside Naruto.

"I think he's screaming at the writer," Naruto said placing the napkin on his lap.

"You know, if this were _canon _it would actually be pretty funny," Hikari noted with a laugh.

"Does it even _count _as breaking the Fourth Wall if it's non-canon?" Joso asked.

"Who cares! Let's eat!" Dr. Aki whooped as he grabbed the fork and knife, only for Karin to smack him over the head with a harisen.

"Don't be rude," Karin said with a sweet grin. "We need to say _grace _first."

"Grace!" everyone said simultaneously.

"Hey Karin. We can hold hands under the table if you want," Koji said smoothly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Koji, but Daemon already asked me," Karin said with a kind smile as she raised her left hand, which was currently being held by the white-streaked medabot designer's right. "I'm sure we can do this _next_ year if you want."

"Nevermind..." Koji whined hanging his head in defeat. _You may've won _this _round Daemon, but you won't win the war._

_Then you better _man up_! _Daemon thought towards Koji.

_Y-You're psychic? _Koji mentally gaped.

_Non-Canon, and it's te_le_path__y, not_ _being _psychic_. __There's a _difference _between the two__, _Daemon mentally stated.

"Alright everyone! Let's eat!" Erika cheered.

"To a happy Thanksgiving, and a Non-Canon update!" Naruto cheered.

"YEAH!" everyone whooped.

"Hey, has anyone seen Salty?" Naruto suddenly asked, everyone looking around the room before noticing a turkeyleg was missing. "Oh, _there _he is," the blond sighed seeing the cream-colored dog munching on the meat, thankful that Salty wasn't anywhere... strange.

* * *

**Well, hope you like the Naruto Tenryo: Thanksgiving Special. I know it wasn't that much, but it was better than nothing.**


	20. Christmas Special

**Hey all. Once again I bring you a (non-canon) Naruto Tenryo holiday special. This one is for Christmas, obviously, and I say once again, this is non-canon, so expect hilarity with a chance of no one making any sense.**

* * *

It was the holiday season in Riverview, and the main characters of Naruto Tenryo had decided to do a Secret Santa thing this year. Everyone had drawn slots to see who would give presents to whom. Like at Thanksgiving last November, only the Tenryo parents would be in attendance, Sloan commenting that maybe they were all out getting juice or something. As for who would be exchanging presents, it was mostly the kids who were doing that, the medabots getting into the holiday spirit and exchanging medaparts they'd won during the days leading up to the big holiday… day.

At the moment everyone was arriving at Dr. Aki's estate just outside Riverview, not dust-free, a white alien-shaped medabot wearing a Santa hat that was presumably Dr. Aki's taking everyone's coats. Since the medabots didn't generate body heat, they were all covered in a thin layer of frost, standing on some towels in front of the fire before drying themselves off. There was nothing worse for a medabot during the holidays than being covered in rust. As for the kids themselves, they were all socializing in the living room, getting ready to exchange their gifts to one another. It went without saying that some _*cough cough* _Koji _*cough* _people weren't happy with who they had to give presents for, but they _*cough* _Koji _*cough* _accepted it with a silent dignity.

"You look very… festive, Metabee," Rokusho stated with crossed arms, currently wearing a red cloak with white fur around the edges. He'd showed up for the holiday specia- I mean holiday, having brought a hand-made wreath for the occasion.

"Oh shut up Rokusho," Metabee grumbled, having been dressed like Rudolf, complete with the glowing nose. As for Totalizer, he was sitting off to the side dressed as Santa.

"Ho ho ho," TOT-Type huffed, trying to ignore the scratchy beard dominating his faceplate.

"At least _you _aren't dressed as one of Santa's _elves_," Peppercat huffed as he pulled on her tights. "Honestly, if someone asks if I want to be a dentist one more time, I'll kick their teeth in."

"That's kinda dark," Cyandog said, currently dressed as _a _reindeer. He had accepted his fate with a… _silent _dignity.

"At least the kids are having fun," Kyuubi said observing the kids exchanging gifts.

"Here. Take it," Koji grumbled as he passed Naruto a festive holiday envelope. When his mom caught wind of the gift exchange, he couldn't hear the end of it until he at _least _put some effort into the packaging, the envelope now covered red with a green ribbon on it.

"Thanks, Koji, and a happy holidays," Naruto said with a smile as he opened the envelope, finding- "Cash."

"Nothing makes for a better gift than cash," the rich boy stated with crossed arms.

"I guess… But that's not really the point of the holidays," Naruto said leafing through the cash. _Non-sequential serial numbers. My favorite, _he grumbled to himself sarcastically.

"Oh he's just being a prude because he didn't get to give something expensive to _Kaaarin_," Erika said pointing toward Daemon and Karin as they held the other's presents behind their back, the two having become one another's Secret Santa.

"I didn't have any money to buy you a gift, so I sold my hair to buy you this brush set," Daemon said pulling up his Santa hat, revealing his now-bald head. Koji got a good laugh out of the shocked look on Karin's face. Poor fool wouldn't know what to expect ne-

"Oh, well I didn't have any money either, so I sold _my _hair to buy you these combs," Karin said pulling up _her _Santa cap, revealing a bald head as well.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Koji cried in horror before he fell over. For a time everyone was silent at what had just transpired, but that was soon broken when both Daemon and Karin began laughing wildly.

"Oh my god, did you see the look on his face?" Daemon asked.

"I know right?" Karin asked as she and Daemon pulled their scalps off, revealing they were wearing bald caps the entire time. "I think he actually had a _heart _attack. Hahahahaha."

"Yeah. He looked so smug when _I _was bald, but as soon as he saw you, he totally flipped out," Daemon chuckled. "I love the comb set. I'll use it whenever I need to comb my hair," he said taking an ornate black comb with gold engravings out, combing his hair back.

"And I'll be sure to use these beautiful brushes whenever I need to brush my hair," Karin said taking out a red comb with gold and pink plum designs on it, brushing her pigtails.

"Anyway…" Naruto said trailing off from the drama. "Merry Christmas, Erika," Naruto said passing Erika her gift.

"_*Gasp* _A new camera? How did you know?" the brunette asked with joy.

"Just a feeling," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders, his eyes widening in surprise as Erika leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Naruto. I love it," she said happily.

"," Naruto said hugging her back, the Screws watching the exchange before exchanging their gifts.

"Here ya go Koji. A holiday ham," Sloan said passing a glazed holiday ham with a slice of pineapple on top to the unconscious boy. "Say nothing if you want me to eat this ham," he then said, waiting a few seconds before picking up the ham. "Merry Christmas," he said as he dug into the ham with gusto. The gift that kept on giving.

"Man, I just had the _worst _nightmare," Koji grumbled as he woke up, sighing as he saw that Karin wasn't bald. Of course, Daemon wasn't bald either, but it was a small price to pay to preserve the fair beauty that was Karin. Getting up however, he paled when he saw just what they were standing und-

"Hey look, Daemon. The mistletoe" the redhead said looking up at the decorative sprig.

"Huh. So we are," he said before he felt Karin's hands go to his shoulders. "K-Karin?" he blushed as she leaned towards him.

"Merry Christmas, Daemon," she said as she leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"Noooooo! Karin's first kiss! Whyyyyyyyyyy?" Koji cried melodramatically.

"Dammit Koji you ruined the beautiful moment!" Karin shrieked as she nailed the boy over the head with the nearby fire stoker.

"Man, non-canon Karin is _scary_," Joso noted as he munched on his piece of the cheese log.

"Well at least she won't be terrorizing anyone for too much longer," Dr. Aki noted as he drank his eggnog, Sloan eating his glazed ham in the background.

"Here Boss. I made you this yakuza jacket with my own two hands," Spyke said handing Sam a white trench coat with the kanji for **SCREWS GANG LEADER **running down the back.

"Thanks. I got you some hair gel from out of the country," Sam said as she took the yakuza jacket, handing Spyke a fancy can of hair gel with French writing on it.

"Silly Sam, I don't use hairgel," Spyke chuckled.

"Then how does your hair get like… that?" she asked.

"That'll be revealed in the next chapter that is _not _non-canon," the spiky-haired kid stated.

"O…kay…" Sam stated with a raised eyebrow. _If he doesn't use hair gel, how _does _his hair get like that?_

"How many times do you think Koji will flip out?" Brass asked Neutranurse as she tried out her new guard-type arm medapart.

"I give it one, two more times tops," Neutranurse stated as she calibrated her new shooting-type medapart.

"Kaaariiiin!" Koji cried out before Charlie transformed into vehicle mode and ran him over, leaving tire treads across his festive duds.

"He should be just about done," Neutranurse stated, seeing as how by now, he'd be asleep for a little while.

"I hope so. The author's running out of legitimate things for him to freak out over," Brass noted.

"We passed legitimate a _long _time ago," Peppercat noted.

"Oh Joso, it's time for your _special _holiday present," Hikari said from the hallway, now dressed in a skimpy Santa outfit, though tasteful enough to be worn around the kids.

"Yeah. Yeah you know what I'm implying. The kids don't know, but _we _know," Dr. Aki said towards the audience.

"_Koooooooji. Koooooooji,"_ Daemon whispered to the sleeping rich kid. _"Tonight, you will be haunted by three ghooooooosts," _he wailed off. _"And they'll all be me," _he added.

"This is so non-canon it almost hurts," Totalizer said from the corner.

* * *

**Well folks, here's your non-canon Naruto Tenryo Christmas Special. Sorry I didn't get into too much detail as to what medaparts the medabots exchanged, but the computer I'm using has issues, so I'm trying not to use the internet too much.**

**Anyway, Merry Christmas, and happy birthday Jesus.**


	21. Negima Uzumaki Birthday Special

**Hey readers, here's another non-canon (MAYBE) chapter for your reading enjoyment. Negima Uzumaki is sort of my "idea buffer" for this story, and he's helped me work ideas through this story for a while. When he asked me to do a Birthday Omake for the 7****th**** of January, how could I say no?**

**Once again, this story may or may not be considered non-canon. I don't know. I'd have to wait and see how the story progresses first, as well as how Negima Uzumaki's character is received. If I do decide to count it as "story canon", then this event will be told out-of-sequence from the rest of the story.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**P.S.  
I do not own Medabots. Any and all OCs are property of their creators.**

* * *

"Why'd we have to come all the way out here and help Henry get caught up on his work again?" Erika asked as she and Naruto trudged back home through the sudden foot-deep snow towards home.

"Come on, you and I both know he's been a big help. To both of us. Plus without him I wouldn't have Metabee now would I?" the blond asked as he trudged his way through the snow, feeling somewhat warmer than he thought he would've.

"Doesn't mean _we _have to suffer through this. My servos're gonna seize in a few minutes unless we get back home soon," Metabee grumbled, currently using Naruto as a human shield to ward off some of the cold, given that Medabots didn't generate body heat and could freeze over if too much ice accumulated.

"Now now Metabee, If _Naruto_ were in Henry's position, wouldn't you want someone to help him too?" Brass asked, currently using Erika for the same purpose, making the affair somewhat less depraved than some would think. At the moment she was wearing a blue and pink scarf around her neck to ward off some of the cold, but most likely because it was a girl thing to dress up their medabots.

"I guess. Still, I bet _Rokusho _has the sense to get somewhere warm in this weather," Metabee grumbled to himself. At the same time across the city, as he was hiding amidst the hydroelectric generators just outside of town, Rokusho sneezed, prompting him to run internal diagnostics for _however _that happened. Back with the rest of the group, Metabee was about to rant some more, but something sticking out of a snowdrift suddenly caught the group's eyes.

"Naruto! Guys! Come look at this!" Erika cried as she began brushing snow out of the way.

Half-buried in the snow was a kid close to their ages if not a year or two older, brown skin and dark brown hair _–styled in a Duo Maxwell hair style-,_ now colored an off-white because it was covered in ice crystals. He was wearing a red shirt, blue jeans, steel-toed shoes, and a black hoodie with a shield design on the back reminiscent to the Legend of Zelda series. What also stood out about him was that he was extremely thin, as though he hadn't eaten for several days.

Beside him was a KBT-Type medabot similar to Metabee, though where Metabee was yellow, this one was black, and where Metabee's "muzzles" were black, this medabot's "muzzles" were silver. Looking to the kid's wrist, he saw that the medawatch he was wearing was black with silver trim, definitively signaling him as the medabot's owner. The medabot's eyes were out like a busted bulb, showing some of its electronics had failed due to the cold weather, making it resemble a medabot _corpse_.

"We have to get these two out of the snow and back inside. We can get home in a couple minutes if we rush it," Naruto said as he began tapping buttons on his medawatch.

"Naruto! This isn't any time to be messing with your user settings!" Erika cried.

"I know what I'm doing!" Naruto cried out as he pressed the last button. Next moment, Metabee's arms glowed brightly before his Submachingun and Revolver had been swapped out for the fire-type medaparts, Fire Gun and Flame Gun.

"You want me to thaw them out?" Metabee asked looking down at his arms, trying to get used to the fact that he didn't have fingers.

"Just enough to get them out of this snow and back home before they get pneumonia," Naruto answered as he began turning down the two medapart's power. "If we raise their temperatures too quickly, it could end up very badly."

"Got it. Nice and slow," Metabee said as he held his arms off to the two's sides, gouts of flames being let out, steam forming in the air as the cold ice crystals met the somewhat-searing flames. The now around the kid was melting, showing him to be in the fetal position with a ratty tarp wrapped around him, and the medabot slowly thawing out. As the last of the ice thawed of the medabot however, its optics, colored red, suddenly flared to life, a demonic edge to its visage as its right arm suddenly jerked up, gun barrels pointed right at Metabee.

"Back… off…" the black-and-silver medabot said in a coarse tone, almost as though his voice synthesizer had been worn out.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down!" Erika said in a slight panic. "We're only trying to help you out. Your medafighter's gonna freeze solid if we don't get him some help soon!" she said pointing to the partially frozen-over medafighter off to the side. Given the added heat, he was starting to stir from his cold sleep, eyes moving beneath the eyelids with some movement, though no enough for it to be considered healthy. Especially given he was mainly dressed for early fall, not the dead of winter.

"Don't need… you… help…" the black-and-silver medabot groaned before falling forward, his medal popping out with an audible _**-cling-**_ before Naruto quickly caught it in his hand.

"Metabee, you take the front and give us a warmer path," Naruto said throwing the downed medabot over his shoulder after stuffing the Kabuto medal in his pocket. "Erika, Brass, take this kid once he's warm enough, but don't move him around too much. After we get him to my house, we'll call the hospital. Maybe the police for a missing person's notice."

"Right," everyone said simultaneously, nodding curtly before getting to their appointed jobs.

* * *

Five minutes later, the unknown kid and his medabot were set out before the fireplace, flames slightly stoked giving off a low, but comforting heat. After calling the hospital, Naruto was given a set of instructions to ensure the kid hadn't gotten any frostbite. Erika after calling the police, found that no missing persons notices were set out for a person of the kid's description, though they should keep the kid around in case he was from out of town.

"How's he doing?" Naruto asked his mom as the kid stirred slightly by the fire, the black-and-silver medabot's medal set on the coffee table so he wouldn't flip out too soon.

"Thankfully, you four got to him just in time," Hikari sighed as she turned the thermostat up another degree, easing the kid back into warmer temperatures. "And you say you found him just _buried _in the snow?"

"Yeah. If we'd gotten to him a minute or two later, we might not've even _seen _him," Erika shuddered.

"Well I'm glad you all kept your wits about you," Kyuubi said stoking the fire slightly.

"Maybe. But still…" Naruto trailed off. "What could drive someone to be _out _in this weather?"

"Hey look! He's moving!" Metabee said as the kid rolled over from his side to his back, eyes blearily opening before he sat up, shaking his head to get some of the melted snow out of his hair.

"Where… am I?" he asked.

"You're at my house," Naruto said sitting across from him as he rubbed his eyes.

"What's your name?" Erika asked.

"My name… is Aono Shingo," the brunette answered. "Where… Where's my medabot?" he asked as he began looking around in a panic.

"He's off to the side, and his medal's over there at the coffee table," Naruto said pointing to the table, Salty poking at it with his paw.

"Why… are his medal and body separate?" the boy demanded, albeit weakly.

"Oh _I _don't know. Maybe because as soon as the guy could move, he pointed his laser cannon right in my _face_?" Metabee demanded angrily, causing the kid to flinch back slightly at the sight of the medabot's clenched fist.

"A KBT-Type?... I thought mine was the last," the kid said after getting a good look at Metabee.

"_Pompous _little brat ain't ya?" Metabee grumbled.

"_Shush,"_ Brass chastised.

"Uh… Sorry," Shingo apologized. "I just thought that line had been discontinued due to the… drawbacks."

"Yeah well… at least _I _never pointed my gun at _Naruto _after just waking up," Metabee said jabbing a thumb at Naruto.

"_*cough*_ Bogus _*cough*_" Naruto coughed out, Metabee glaring lightning bolts at the blond.

"Anyway… What were you doing out in this weather? And in fall clothes no less?" Erika questioned. Surprisingly she wasn't treating this like a scoop, given her penchant for doing that for just about _anything _interesting.

"It isn't any of your business," the kid grumbled with crossed arms.

"Considering we brought your half-frozen ass into _our _house, I think it _is _our business," Metabee grumbled.

"Yeah, you aren't exactly being _grateful _for the help we've given you," Naruto said with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

" . . . Sorry," the kid apologized with a sigh. "I guess… after what happened, I just grew to stop trusting people," he sighed as he hugged his knees to his chest.

"What happened?" Hikari asked sitting down beside him.

"Long story short… I caught my parents talking about just dropping me off at a home or something somewhere. About how much easier their lives would be without me around," he grumbled, a few in the room gasping at the information. "I didn't give them a chance, since that night I packed everything I could into my backpack, got my medabot, snuck out the window, and never looked back."

"How long have you been… on the run then?" Erika asked.

"Two years?" he wondered. "I'm not really sure anymore. I guess I should be thankful that people are as wasteful as to throw entire meals in the trash only after taking one bite, otherwise I would've starved to death ages ago."

"And short, dark, and gruesome?" he asked pointing to the medabot chassis off to the side.

"After I told him what happened, Mechabee was _furious_," Shingo answered. "It was all I could do to stop him from launching his Tracker Missiles into the gas tank and blow them to Kingdom Come."

_Mecha_bee_? _Track_er Missiles? This guy sounds like one big knockoff of _me _if you want _this _bot's opinion, _Metabee grumbled to himself.

"So that's it? You left home because of _that_?" Naruto asked simply.

"It was better than being stuck in a house where no one loved you, or being stuck in foster care where no one cared about you at all," he grumbled. "Besides, they were going to sell MechaBee off to a collector for a quick buck, so there wasn't any way I was going to leave him behind. Not after I saved every last penny to get him."

"_Well I can see why he doesn't trust people,"_ Metabee grumbled to himself.

"Now if you don't mind, can I have my medabot back? I kinda want to be on my way," the kid shrugged as he got to his feet, only for Hikari to push him to the floor and stick a thermostat under his tongue.

"Not until this weather clears you're not," she stated with a smile, though you could just tell she was far from happy at the moment. "Keep that under your tongue. I want to make sure you're all better."

" . . . Awright," Shingo sighed through the thermostat.

* * *

"Man, my aching servos," Mechabee grumbled after Shingo had reset the Kabuto medal into his medal chamber.

"Probably because you were half-frozen when we found you," Metabee stated. "Honestly, what happened to your internal heating coils?"

"Not _all _of us can have the cushy lifestyle _you _do, _rookie_," the black KBT-Type spat.

"WHAT'D YOU JUST CALL ME?-!" Metabee demanded.

"Both of you be quiet or I'll let you settle this… out_side_," Kyuubi stated ominously as an ominous… wind, blew through, the two reeling back as a pair of crimson eyes seemed to glare at them from behind her three eye slats.

"How long are you going to make me stay here?" Shingo asked off to the side.

"You know you're being _kinda _ungrateful for a guy who's staying in my house and eating my food," Naruto grumbled, Shingo currently eating a bowlful of noodles.

"It's not _your _house and food, it's your mom's," Shingo said back.

"Don't be a smart alec. If we hadn't gotten your half-frozen ass off the street, you would've been a _dead _man," Erika said back.

"What happened to girls being sweet and innocent?" he asked.

"It's the twenty-second century! Not the _eighteenth_ century!" the brunette growled angrily.

"Hey, I don't want your charity, _nor _your pity," Shingo grumbled as he drank the last of the broth. Before he could put the bowl down however, there was a loud thumping sound on the roof, soot landing in the fireplace and disturbing the fire. "What was that?"

"Don't know, but it came from the roof," Naruto said pulling on his coat. "Come on, we can get to the roof from the back yard," he said as he, Erika, Shingo, and their medabots rushed out the back door.

* * *

A minute or so later, the group of six, Hikari having gone into town to get some last-minute shopping done, were greeted by the sight of a group of jumpsuit-wearing figures on the roof, Santa hats on their heads, tarp bags over their shoulders, and one of them stuck in the chimney.

"Who the heck are _you _guys?" Shingo asked as he pulled himself up onto the roof.

"We're the Rubbberrobo Gang, and we're going to _steal _Christmas!" Seaslug shouted as he laughed maniacally.

"It's _January _you dopes!" Naruto and Erika shrieked.

"Then why're the _Christmas _decorations still up?" he asked in return.

"It's been _less _than two weeks since Christmas!" Metabee cried out. "You really think anyone's going to freeze their asses off and take down all the crap they put out?" he asked before Kyuubi smacked him over the back of the head.

"Don't try and fool us!" Squidguts shouted.

"Yeah! We're too _smart _for that!" Shrimplips cried out.

"_Clearly_," Mechabee grumbled sarcastically.

"Hey! We ain't takin' no lip from a Metabee knockoff!" Seaslug shouted.

"I ain't no knockoff!" Mechabee growled. "Blaster Cannon!" he shouted raising his left arm and firing out a deluge of bullets at the group, Seaslug, Squidguts, and Shrimplips tapdancing around the roof trying not to fall off while Gilgirl was still trying to get out of the chimney.

"That's _totally _a knockoff of Metabee's Laser Cannon!" Shrimplips cried as he dodged the bullets.

"Shut up you baby-lookalike!" Shingo shouted.

"Tracker Missiles!" Mechabee cried as he fired the blue-capped missiles at the three dancing around the roof, Gilgirl finally getting out of the chimney only to get caught up in the blast.

"Looks like we're blasting off agaaaaaain!" the Rubberrobos cried as they flew off into the distance.

_**Ding**_

"What the heck was _that _about?" Shingo questioned with a sweatdrop on the back of his head, Naruto and Erika grumbling about weirdos on the roof while Metabee and Brass consoled their medafighters.

* * *

A hour later after Shingo had borrowed the bathroom to get himself cleaned after however long it had been since he'd last bathed, Kyuubi found that the bathroom was empty, the bathroom window left open, and no trace of Mechabee remaining in the house, though some medabot-grade lubricant was missing from the garage. There were a few tracks leading away from the house, but they became lost after falling into the main road.

"Where do you think he went?" Erika wondered as she looked down on where the trail grew cold. Or _colder _as it went.

"I don't know," Naruto answered. "Maybe… he just went off on his own like before."

"You think he'll be okay?" she asked.

"Who knows?" Naruto wondered as he shrugged his shoulders. "Still, if it counts for anything, I think those two will be fine," he said looking off into the distance.

* * *

At the same time just outside of Riverview…

"Good evening," Rokusho said passing by two figures in the snow.

"Whatever," the KBT-Type medabot covered in a dark green tarp said passing by.

"Well…" Rokusho said as the medabot and his human companion passed by. "_That _was certainly quite rude," he said before walking off.

* * *

**Not that much to say except I hope you enjoyed this, Negima Uzumaki. Also, Happy Birthday!**

**P.S.  
I apologize that this chapter came out a day late, but since the days kinda blend into one another for me on vacation, it's easy to lose track of time.**


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